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ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION 
TO QUEBEC 



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Colonel ^Arjnold. 

itio Jommcuul^ t/u IVovincial Troops .wnt ayiurutt QlTKBEC. throiurn -f^Pyiiaerni^i 
. • /^iruxda andu'OJ /liuuuu'f en >mv/ru/uft/iat Liti/, iLTiiur (./t^uvxi/^ tL^rit.iivmrv. 



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ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION 
TO OUEBEC 



<;^w 



BY 

JOHN CODMAN, 2nd 



SECOND EDITION 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd. 

1902 

All rights reserved 



THc LIBrfARY OF 

CONQHtSS, 
Owt Co*-! HtutivEe 

AUG. 25 1904 

OoovwiOHT ENTRY 

■^<- ^ H - / '^ r ■ 

CUASft U XX6. No. 
COPY A 



COPTRIOHT, 1901, BY 

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 



Set up and printed February, 1902. 



PRESS OF 

THE NEW ERA PRINTING COMPANY, 

LANCASTER, PA. 



PREFATORY NOTE 

The author of this volume died August 31, 1897, 
at the age of thirty-four, leaving practically com- 
pleted the work on which he had spent the last 
years of his life. It lacked, however, the benefit 
of his final revision for the press. Mr. Codman's 
family and friends are greatly indebted to Mr. 
M. A. DeWolfe Howe for advice and assistance in 
bringing the book to publication; and to Mr. 
Henry S. Chapman for the actual revision and 
verification of the manuscript. In all the necessary 
abridgment and rearrangement Mr. Chapman has 
made a minimum of changes in the author's 

original narrative. 

E. A. C. 
July, 1901. 



(v) 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Introduction 1 

CHAPTER I 
The Invasion of Canada is Planned. ....... 5 

CHAPTER II 
Benedict Arnold 13 

CHAPTER III 
The Expedition Sets Forth 28 

CHAPTER IV 
The Ascent of the Kennebec .38 

CHAPTER V 
The March into the Wilderness 56 

CHAPTER VI 
Flood — Famine — Desertion 66 

CHAPTER VII 

Across the " Terrible Carry " 88 

CHAPTER VIII 
Arnold Saves the Remnant of His Army 108 

CHAPTER IX 
Descending the Chaudi^re 122 

CHAPTER X 

Before Quebec 143 

(vii) 



viii CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XI 

PAOE 

Montgomery Joins Arnold ......... 162 

rilAPTER XII 
The Investment 185 

CHAPTER XIII 
The Assault is Planned ... 197 

CHAPTER XIV 

The Assault on Quebec 212 

CHAPTER XV 
The Death of Montgomery 229 

CHAPTER XVI 
The Americans Stand Their Ground ....... 250 

CHAPTER XVn 
Prisoners of War . 262 

CHAPTER XVIII 
A Hopeless Siege 290 

CHAPTER XIX 
The Campaign Fails 298 

APPENDIX A 
A Bibliographical List of Contemporary Journals 313 

APPENDIX B 

Subsequent Careers of Members of the Expedition 322 

APPENDIX C 
Relics of the Expedition ......... 329 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Facing page 
Colonel Arnold, from a Contemporary Print . . Frontispiece . 

All That Eemains of Fort Halifax 48 

A View of Mt. Bigelow . . 68 

The Falls of Sault on the ChaudiSre 110 

General Richard Montgomery 180 

Captain Daniel Morgan 225 

Captain Henry Dearborn 241 

The General Hospital 260 

St. Louis Gate 294 

MAPS 

Arnold's Route of March to Quebec 58 

Quebec and Its Environs . .158 



(ix) 



ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 



INTRODUCTION 

Theee are several reasons why the Quebec expedi- 
tion has never been given the place in history which 
it deserves. The rank and file who returned to tell 
the tale were few in number, weak in influence and 
widely scattered. Many of them reenlisted and per- 
ished during the war. Most of the surviving officers 
gained a wider reputation by brilliant exploits in more 
conspicuous fields, and continued to live the active 
lives which make history but afford little time to 
write it. Moreover, this was one of the first military 
movements of importance in the war, and records at 
that time were not preserved with much care, so that 
a great deal of valuable information has only recently 
become accessible, while perhaps still more has been 
destroyed or lost forever. The young nation was not 
likely to dwell with pride on the failure of the inva- 
sion of Canada, and gladly allowed everything con- 
nected with it to fall into oblivion. Doubtless, also, 
a campaign which was so closely associated with the 
name of the traitor Arnold, the truthful account of 
which could not fail to reflect credit on that evil 
genius, was willingly slighted. 
1 (1) 



•2 AK'NOI.D'S EXPEDITION T(J QUEBEC 

The autlior had one advaiitai^e over otlier writers 
who liavo toiiclied on tliis campaign, in tliat lie fol- 
lowed, on foot or in canoes, for the greater ])art of 
the distance, the army's course through llic Kenne- 
bec, Dead liiver and Chaudiere regions, and visited 
Quebec and its environs; and in like manner traced 
the route of Montgomery, with whose force Arnold 
was cooperating, over Lake George, Lake Chami)lain 
and the Richelieu Eiver to ^Montreal. In examining 
the illustrations made from the author's jihotographs, 
it is desirable to remember that at the time when 
they were taken, in October, 1895, or Septeml)er, 
1896, the water in the Dead Eiver and the Chaudiere 
was very low. Many of the falls have also been ren- 
dered much less difficult of ai)proacli and passage by 
the blastings of the lumbermen, in order to make a 
freer passage for their logs, for the greater part of 
the country has been logged over, and most of the 
big timber cut out. 

The list of Journals to be found in the Appendix 
indicates the chief sources from which the history of 
the expedition has been drawn. The most valuable 
American journals in the list are those of Henry, 
Arnold, Senter and Thayer; of the English, those of 
Fraser, Ainslie, and the journal by an unknown 
author, printed in 1880 by the New York Historical 
Society; the best French journals are those of Sau- 
guinet and Badeaux. Thayer's Journal, edited by E. 
M. Stone, was published many years ago in the Col- 
lections of the Ehode Island Historical Society. Mr. 
Stone introduces it with a brief history of the inva- 



INTRODUCTION 3 

sion of Canada, and adds an appendix which con- 
tains valuable notes on the journal and biographical 
sketches of some of the principal officers of iVrnold's 
and Montgomery 's forces. 

Most of these journals are brief and in the form 
of diaries. No one of them gives a comprehensive 
view of the campaign, or of the movements and ad- 
ventures of more than one division of the expedition- 
ary force from the date of leaving Cambridge to the 
arrival before Quebec. Some of them are little more 
than fragments of personal history which have drifted 
about, privately printed or in manuscript, for one 
hundred years or more, and have rarely come into 
public or private notice. 

The author's effort has been by comparison and 
combination of such original sources to reconcile or 
correct the conflicting statements of English, Canadian 
and American historians, and to produce a narrative 
of popular interest, which shall aim as well at ac- 
curacy and impartiality of statement and deduction. 
This method of work has proved the essential veracity 
of these diarists and journalists, and at the same 
time the superficial, careless and unfair treatment 
which the history of this expedition has received at 
the hands of many historians. The author has quoted 
freely from both diaries and journals— not hesitating, 
where their language seemed peculiarly graphic and 
strong, to embody an occasional phrase in the text 
without quotation marks, in order not to lose any 
of the force of the words by reconstruction, or tax 
the reader's patience by constant changes from direct 



4 AKNOLD'S KXl'KDITIUN TO QUEBEC 

to indirect discourse, or rude transitions from one 
tense to anotlier. 

Other valuable material lias been found among 
Force's Archives, the Canadian Archives, including 
the Ilaldlmand Papers, the Massachusetts and Peim- 
sylvania Archives, and in the collection of Manuscrij^ts 
of Jared Sparks in the Harvard University Library. 
There, and in the collections of the Maine Historical 
Society, and Washington's writings and correspond- 
ence, may be found almost all the letters of Arnold, 
]\Iontgomery, Washington, Keed and Schuyler, from 
which quotations have been made. 

The author's thanks are due to Messrs. Christian 
C. Febiger of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; H. ]\Ieigs 
Whaples of Hartford, Connecticut; Parker M. Peed 
of Bath, Maine; George A. Porterfield of Charles- 
town, West Virginia; Edward A. Greene of Pro\TL- 
dence and James G. Topham of Newport, Rhode 
Island, grandchildren or great-grandchildren of officers 
of the expedition, for the readiness with which they 
have put themselves at his service, and the access 
they have accorded to manuscripts or portraits in 
their possession. 



CHAPTER I 
THE INVASION OF CANADA IS PLANNED 

When Benedict Arnold, turned traitor in the last 
years of the War of Independence, was leading the 
forces of the King against his former compatriots 
in Virginia, it is reported that among his prisoners 
was a certain plucky and witty officer, who, in answer 
to Arnold's question, ''What will the Americans do 
with me if they catch me?" replied, "They will cut 
off the leg which was wounded when you were fight- 
ing so gloriously for the cause of liberty, and bury it 
with the honors of war, and hang the rest of your 
body on a gibbet ! " 

The answer gave fit expression to the detestation 
with which all steadfast patriots regarded the man 
who had done his best to betray their cause, but it 
also hints at the earlier fame which Arnold once de- 
served and enjoyed. The Arnold of Ticonderoga and 
Quebec, whose name was a synonym for bravery, 
determination and patriotic fervor, is not often re- 
membered now. His good deeds are forever obscured 
by the shadow of his great crime. But it will help 
us to do full justice to that strange and unfortunate 
man, if we follow again the story of the gallant but 
ill-fated expedition which he led through the wilder- 
ness of Maine and Canada, and against the icy ram- 

(5) 



G AILXOLD'S KXI'EDITIOX TO qVVAM'lC 

parts of iiii])ro^-7ial>lo Qn('l)C'('. And wliile wo do so 
let us not forget that lind lie ralleii as did Mont- 
gomery before the citadel, his wliole body, and not liis 
shattered leg only, would have been entitled to burial 
with the most glorious honors of war. He would 
have been counted one of the noblest martyrs of the 
cause of liberty, not its despised and execrated Judas. 

The invasion of Canada was one of the very ear- 
liest strategic moves in the war of the Revolution. 
From the ince])tion of the struggle with the mother 
country, the colonists appreciated to the full the mil- 
itary and political advantages to be gained by en- 
listing the Canadians in its sui:)port. These advan- 
tages, indeed, were so numerous and so obvious that 
it required neither breadth of statesmanship nor ex- 
perience in military affairs to recognize them at once. 
The acquisition of Canada would unite the whole of 
British America in opposition to the Crown, and 
strengthen the United Colonies by the possession of 
a wdde stretch of territory, in which were situated two 
of the principal cities of the continent, one of them a 
natural fortress of great strategic im^Dortance, sup- 
plied with all those munitions of war of which the 
rebels stood in the sorest need. An unbroken front 
would thus be presented to invasion from England, 
and New England and New York would not be ex- 
posed to the menace of an army allied with the 
savage Indian tribes, operating in their rear with 
Canada as a base, and outflanking them on Lake 
Champlain, Lake George, and tlie Hudson River. 

The first resort of the rebellious colonies was, of 



THE INVASION OF CANADA PLANNED 7 

course, to negotiation, and their earliest efforts in 
this direction met with sufficient encouragement to 
afford them good hopes for the ultimate attachment 
of Canada to the confederation by peaceful means 
alone. Before the capture of Ticonderoga, before the 
battle of Bunker Hill, even before the battle of Lex- 
ington, Canada had been invited to send delegates to 
the Provincial Congress. The reply of some of the 
principal merchants of Montreal, to whom the invi- 
tation was directed, shows that there was at this 
time considerable popular sympathy in that province 
with the cause of liberty, albeit it was a sympathy 
which prudently hesitated to declare itself in public. 
Under date of April 28, 1775, they wrote : 

We deeply feel the Sorrows and Afflictions of our suf- 
fering Brothers; & sincerely wish it was in our Power to 
afford you effectual Relief ; but alas we are more the Objects 
of pity and Compassion, than yourselves, who are now suffer- 
ing under the heavy hand of Power ; deprived, as we are, of 
the common right of the miserable, to complain. 

You have Numbers, Strength, & a common Cause to 
Support you in your Opposition: we are still more divided 
here, by our Interests, than by our Religion, Language and 
Manners. The Apprehension of Evils to come upon us, in 
a short time, from the unlimited power of the Governour, 
strikes all Opposition dead : indeed, few in this Colony dare 
vent their Griefs: but groan in Silence, & dream of Lettres 
de Cachet, Confiscations, and Imprisonments, offering up their 
fervent Prayers to the Throne of Grace, to prosper your 
righteous cause, which alone will free us from these jealous 
Fears and Apprehensions that rob us of our Peace. . . . 



8 AKXULD'S EXPEDITKLX To (.^IL'KBIX 

Yon Avill please to bear in ^Nlind, that not only those who 
hold the Ileliii of Government, but also, all those who make 
Wealth or Ambition the chief Objects of their Pursuit are 
professedly your Enemies ; & would be glad to reduce you to 
the same Abject State, with themselves: nevertheless, t!ie 
hulk of the People, both English and Canadians, are of quite 
contrary Sentiments; and wish well to your Caase; but dare 
not stir a finger to help you; being of no more estimation in 
the political Machine, than the Sailors are, in shaping the 
Course, or working the ships in which they sail. They 
may mutter and swear, but must obey; however, should 
Government handle them too roughly, & arbitrarily attempt 
to force them upon dangerous & disagreeable Service, to 
which they have already shown an irreconcileable Aversion, 
they may, perhaps, dearly repent it. 

Somewhat later, the Whigs of Montreal did, in fact, 
gather enough courage to send James Price, one of the 
signers of this letter, to represent them in the Conti- 
nental Congress, though in a secret and unauthoritative 
capacity. Price, with Thomas AValker and James Liv- 
ingston, all wealthy and influential citizens of Mon- 
treal, were as zealous for the cause of the colonies, and 
as open and arrant rebels as Samuel Adams or Patrick 
Henry. The Quebec Act had been hardly better re- 
ceived in Canada than the Stamp Act in the southern 
colonies, and there were Committees of Correspon- 
dence and Safety in Montreal, and trustworthy private 
correspondents at Quebec. That very spring, on the 
first of May, people had insulted his Majesty by daub- 
ing his bust in the public square of JMontreal with 
black paint and hanging a string of rotten potatoes 



THE INVASION OF CANADA PLANNED 9 

round the neck above this inscription : ' ' Voila le Pape 
du Canada et le sot Anglais." Indeed, it is not im- 
probable that but for the impolitic document addressed 
by Congress to the people of Great Britain, in Septem- 
ber, 1774, inveighing in unmeasured terms against 
the French Jurisprudence and Roman Catholicism, 
Canada might also have cast her vote for independence. 

The ancient French noblesse were, for the most 
part, office-holders under government and devoted to 
its interests, but they had dwindled in numbers, means 
and influence, and were neither to be courted nor feared. 

The habitants, or French farmers, who made up the 
bulk of the population, were certainly not enthusiastic 
in their loyalty to the English sovereignty under which 
they had not yet lived a score of years, and though 
they could hardly be relied upon for active aid, might, 
at least, have given passive countenance to the plans 
of the revolutionary leaders if their religion had been 
treated with respect and their priesthood with tact 
and wisdom. This phase of the situation was, unfor- 
tunately, not correctly understood at Philadelphia until 
it was too late. The step already referred to, which 
alienated many of the Roman Catholic clergy and their 
flocks from the revolutionary cause, was taken before 
its probable effect upon this preponderating element 
of the Canadian population was appreciated. 

But though the Continental Congress found much 
encouragement in the temper of the northern provinces, 
as it was reported by its correspondents in Montreal 
and Quebec, it soon became evident that the active 
spirits were too few, and the mass of the people too 



10 Aiv'xoLirs Kxi'i:i)rri().\ to (Quebec 

inert, to give any hope I'oi' a spontaneous ni)risinp: in 
behalf of tlie cause of indei)endenee. The Ijohler 
patriots at onee turned to the otlier alternative, an 
invasion of C^anada l)y the colonial troops, who, 
through the aid of the rebel syni])atliizers and the 
indilTerence of the rest of the population, were ex- 
pected to expel the British troops from Montreal and 
Quebec, and attach the province to the confederation. 
The leading revolutionists correctly understood the 
urgency of the crisis, for they were i^erfectly ac- 
quainted with the zeal and military talents of General 
Guy Carleton, the governor of the province. He was 
exerting himself actively to organize the Canadians, 
and to supply them with arms and ammunition re- 
cently shipped from England, and though the habitants 
resolutely refused to enroll themselves, it was easily 
imagined that as soon as the Governor's authority 
was reinforced by the arrival of a large body of 
troops from England, the Canadians would be obliged 
to yield, and feeling more certain of the issue of the 
contest, would try to secure immunity for themselves 
by becoming active in fastening burdens on the backs 
of their southern neighbors. The blow must be struck 
at once, then, if it was to be struck at all. The 
capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point by the New 
England troops under Ethan Allen opened the way 
for an expedition to be des]iatched by way of Lake 
George and Lake Champlain to the St. Lawrence, 
and Congress in the summer of 1775 authorized such 
an undertaking. The invading force was to be com- 
posed of militia raised in New England and New 



THE INVASION OF CANADA PLANNED 11 

York, and Major- General Philip Schuyler of the 
latter colony was appointed to its command. This 
gentleman was a veteran of the French War and 
combined with wealth and position, military talents, 
trustworthiness and unquestioned zeal for the cause. 
But he was well advanced in years and was perhaps 
over-cautious for a campaign which so urgently de- 
manded activity and energy. 

General Schuyler, having mobilized at Albany, was 
hurried forward early in July with an army fluctuat- 
ing from five hundred to fifteen hundred men up 
Lakes George and Champlain to Ticonderoga. From 
that fortress as a base he was expected to begin the 
expulsion of the British from Canada by taking 
Chambly on the St. John's Eiver, and then St. John's 
and Montreal. But before he had an opportunity to 
meet the enemy in force, he was compelled by illness, 
about September 14, to resign the command to Brig- 
adier-General Eichard Montgomery. 

Meanwhile General Washington, who had recently 
taken command of the colonial troops besieging Bos- 
ton, had communicated to Congress, with his approval, 
a project for the support of Schuyler's movement by 
another expedition, to be sent against Canada, as it 
were, from the rear. While General Carleton was 
engaged with an active enemy in his front, this 
second army was to attempt by rapid marches to 
surprise and capture Quebec, which would no doubt 
be but slenderly garrisoned, and if it failed in this, 
it would at least be able to join forces with the Lake 
Champlain expedition and give valuable assistance in 



12 AKNOI.D'S KXPKDITIUX TO QUEBr:C 

the rediietion of the all-important fortress, AVhether 
General Washington himself first conceived this ])lau, 
or whether it was suggested to him by the officer 
whom he selected to carry it out, does not clearly 
appear. Perhaps the truth lies between. At all 
events, Washington warmly pressed the scheme ui)on 
the attention of Congress and secured its assent with 
no apparent difficulty. The expedition thus resolved 
upon, Washington chose Benedict Arnold as its com- 
maiider, and Congress promptly voted him a colonel's 
commission in the Continental sendee. 



CHAPTER II 
BENEDICT ARNOLD 

The young officer entrusted with this responsible 
command was born at Norwich, Connecticut, January 
14, 1741. He came of good stock, being a great-grand- 
son of Benedict Arnold, the second governor of the 
colony of Rhode Island. His father, Benedict Arnold, 
had come to Norwich from Newport, Rhode Island, 
about 1730, as a seaman aboard the vessel of Captain 
Absalom King, whose young widow he married in 
1733. During Benedict junior 's early youth, his father 
did a good business with the West Indies, owning 
parts or the whole of vessels, which he sometimes 
sailed himself, so that he came to be called "Captain 
Arnold. ' ' Though his old age seems to have been one of 
poverty, intemperance and little respect, yet, judging 
from the positions of trust which he is known to have 
held, he must for many years have had the confi- 
dence of the community in which he lived. His wife 
died when the young Benedict was seventeen years 
old, and the Captain himself died three years later. 
Their son, then, was left an orphan before he reached 
his majority. Beyond doubt this was a misfortune, 
for we know that his mother, at least, was his pious 
counselor and guide. 

Arnold had opportunities to receive, it would ap- 

(13) 



14 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

l)ear, siicli education as llie best schools of Norwich 
or its neighborhood afforded— that is to say, a very 
good one; but judging by tlie caricatures with which 
he covered his s])eliing-book, and wliat little has come 
down to us of his youthful habits and inclinations, he 
was no student, and did not get much farther towards 
a liberal education in the arts than to write his name 
in a copy of Cornelius Nepos. 

Of his character as a boy, we have only meager 
and secondary accounts. Eatlier than repeat, there- 
fore, the stories of his youth and childhood, which 
are too often colored by prejudice and hatred, it is 
better to let the reader form his estimate of Arnold's 
character and motives chiefly from his authentic writ- 
ings and undisputed acts. It seems just, however, to 
record that in letters written to Jared Sparks by cit- 
izens of Norwich and New Haven in 1834, when few 
who knew Arnold as a boy were living, and those at 
a great age, we find him referred to as ' ' an uncom- 
monly active, prompt, saucy, roguish and impetuous 
lad, " " showj^ and ostentatious, " * ' possessing a mind 
naturally strong, and certainly singular, " ' ' rash, head- 
strong and regardless alike of friends and foes. ' ' 

As a youngster, Arnold ran away to serve in the 
French War of 1756, but was promptly returned at 
the request of his parents. It is said, though the 
truth of the statement is open to question, that he 
made a second attempt, and succeeded in passing 
some dreary months of inactivity in barracks at 
Ticonderoga. This was so little to his taste that he 
deserted and returned home, where he was kindly 



BENEDICT ARNOLD 15 

secreted from the King's officers by liis fellow-towns- 
men. He was then only about sixteen years of age. 

Arnold's mother's name was Hannah Waterman, 
and her family was worthy and influential. It was 
her interest, no doubt, which secured her son's ap- 
prenticeship to the trade of apothecary with her rela- 
tives, Drs. Daniel and Joshua Lothrop, both graduates 
of Yale College, and the leading importers of drugs 
in New England. Having served his apprenticeship, 
he made several voyages to the West Indies as super- 
cargo of a vessel in which he was interested, and then 
upon returning from a journey to London, he hung 
out his sign at New Haven, ' ' B. Arnold, druggist, 
bookseller, etc. From London. ' ' 

Under the patronage of the Lothrops, Arnold seems 
to have carried on business successfully. From 1768 
to 1773, we find him still living at New Haven, a 
trader with the West Indies, Martinique, Jamaica, St. 
Croix and St. Eustache; sometimes sailing his own 
ships, transporting horses and cattle, as well as mer- 
chandise; and we may note, having business connec- 
tions and correspondents in Montreal and Quebec, 
which cities he visited personally on more than one 
occasion. He had experienced business reverses and 
gone into bankruptcy,— from which we are told he 
did not emerge very creditably,— though it does not 
appear that he made money by the operation, or 
seriously damaged his reputation. By the time the 
Revolution broke out he had rallied and was doing a 
good business. He had repurchased for three hun- 
dred pounds the family homestead of Dr. Lothrop, 



16 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

Avlio liad l)Oiiglit it from liis father for ten ])Ounds, 
and there is a sworn a])praisal of his property at 
the o])enini»- of tlie l^evolution at about twelve thou- 
sand doHars. 

In 1775 his military ambitions had not left him, 
and he had become the popular young captain of one 
of the two companies of " Governor's Guards," the 
crack militia organization of Connecticut. He appears 
as a man of sensitive pride and temper, full of self- 
confidence, of force— therefore with enemies— and 
enjoying respect and local favor in a considerable 
degree. That he was generous and thoughtful of 
others is witnessed even by his detractors. 

He had married, in Xew Haven, Miss Margaret 
Mansfield, the accomplished daughter of Samuel ]\Ians- 
field, high-sheriff of the county, by whom he had 
three children; but at this time he was a widower. 
An only sister, Hannah Arnold, who was devoted to 
Mm, was in charge of his household. 

He was rather short in stature, thickset and very 
muscular, and of good figure. He was a decided favor- 
ite with women and enjoyed their societ^^ He had dark 
hair, light eyes, a florid complexion and features which 
might fairly be called handsome. He was an excellent 
horseman, no mean sailor, and a splendid shot with 
either rifle or jiistol. His skill with the latter had 
stood him in good stead on the dueling-ground, and 
was destined to save his life once, at least, in close 
quarters on the battlefield. 

News of the battle fought at Lexington on the 
19th of April reached New Haven by midday of the 



BENEDICT ARNOLD 17 

20th. Arnold and his company assembled and, joined 
by some enthusiastic students from Yale College, made 
a demand on the selectmen for powder, so that they 
might set off at once for Cambridge. This request 
being refused for lack of orders from the colonial 
authorities, Arnold did not hesitate; he forced the 
selectmen to deliver the keys, opened the powder- 
house and marched for Cambridge with a full comple- 
ment, arriving there with one of the best-drilled, 
best-equipped and best-uniformed companies which 
the little army could boast. 

Such a leader, so announced, would have been 
likely to attract attention, even if less self-confident, 
and Arnold was never a laggard in the path of ambi- 
tion. On April 30, a few days after his arrival at 
Cambridge, he wrote to the Massachusetts Committee 
of Safety, urging an expedition to capture Ticonder- 
oga. Crown Point and Montreal. On May 3, so well 
did he bespeak his cause, we find him receiving a 
colonel's commission, and departing for western Mass- 
achusetts, there to raise the levies for the under- 
taking. 

The same idea had meanwhile been conceived by 
Ethan Allen, who was in command of the militia 
companies of Vermont, and by some of the leading 
men of Hartford, who had raised a company and 
hurried it forward to cooperate with Colonel Allen, 
already on the march. On arriving at Stockbridge, 
therefore, Arnold found himself forestalled, and 
without waiting to recruit the levies he was author- 
ized to raise, he hurried forward in order that he 

2 



18 AKXOLIVS KXPi:i)ITl()N TO QUEBEC 

miii^lit not liiniscir miss llie slin-iii.i^ events wliioli were 
at hand. 

Perhaps lie relied on his re^^ular commission from 
Massachusetts to supersede the zealous Vermonter in 
his connnand. But Allen proved to }3e a man too 
much after his own temi)er; it was a case of ''Greek 
meeting (J reek." Arnold could not take the fortress 
with the magic of his commission; Allen could take 
it with his men. As a courtesy, however, Allen ac- 
cepted Arnold as a vohmteer, the latter retaining his 
rank, and together, May 10, at the head of only 
eighty-three men, they surprised and captured the 
fortress at Ticonderoga, its small garrison of forty- 
eight men and its rich stores of munitions of war, so 
much needed for the siege of Boston. Crown Point 
fell in short order, an equally easy prey. 

Canada was regarded as the "back door" which 
would always be open for the King's troops. Thus 
was its key placed in the hands of Congress, and the 
entrance to the western waterways, scenes of former 
warfare with the French, safely closed. Naturally the 
names of those who were foremost in carrying out 
the enterprise became at once famous throughout the 
colonies. 

But though they had buried their ditferences so 
amicably in the face of the dangerous exploit in 
which they were mutually engaged, Allen and Arnold 
soon found numerous occasions for friction and dis- 
sension. Conspicuous among these was the affair of 
St. John's. 

Arnold had been joined a few days after the cap- 



BENEDICT ARNOLD 19 

ture of Ticonderoga by about fifty men raised by his 
lieutenants, Oswald and Brown, in the Berkshires. 
They brought with them the schooner Liberty, taken 
from Philip Skene, a government officer at Skenes- 
borough, at the head of Lake Champlain. Availing 
himself of this vessel, and having fixed upon her four 
carriage and six swivel guns, Arnold stole a march 
upon Allen, with whom he still contested the chief 
command, and moved rapidly up the lake to Crown 
Point and St. John's, where he captured twenty men 
and made prize of a King's sloop and some military 
stores. Eeturning, he had the satisfaction of meet- 
ing Allen setting out with one hundred men in bateaux 
to accomplish the same object. 

Upon another occasion, a number of the Connecti- 
cut officers called upon Arnold at Crown Point, to 
protest against his iDretensions to command them. 
The interview was stormy, and before it was ended 
Colonel Easton, as Arnold thought, insulted him. In 
Arnold's regimental memorandum book there is this 
brief entry, acquainting us with the subsequent pro- 
ceedings : 

*' I took the liberty of breaking his (Easton 's) head 
and on his refusing to draw like a gentleman, he hav- 
ing a hanger by his side, and a case of loaded pistols 
in his pocket, I kicked him very heartily and ordered 
him from the point immediately. ' ' 

Such dissensions of course gave rise to scandal, 
and a committee from the Massachusetts Legislature 
having been sent to enquire into Arnold's conduct 
while under its commission, that high-spirited officer 



20 ARNOLD'S KXPKDITIOX TO QUEBEC 

proini)tly resigned fi"om tlie sei-vioe of ]\rassacliusetts 
and returned to Cambridge in .Inly. 

(leneral" "Washington liad just arrived from Virginia 
to take the command, on July '2, of the heterogeneous 
bands of militia collected around Boston, and Arnold, 
on liis return from the Lakes, met him for the first 
time, Washington recognized the young officer's 
merit from the outset. Always fair-minded and 
hampered by no local i:)rejudices, he became at once 
his admirer and friend. 

While at Crown Point, Arnold, who seems beyond 
all others— unless it may be Ethan Allen— to have 
understood the value of rapid action at the beginning 
of such a war, had sent spies into Canada to ascer- 
tain the enemy's strength and the sentiments of the 
French and Canadians. He also sent a Mr. Hoit, an 
Indian interpreter, and three Stockbridge Indians 
with a belt of wampum to conciliate the Caughnawaga 
Indians above Montreal. 

The information thus gained, together, no doubt, 
with reports from Arnold's own friends and business 
correspondents in Montreal and Quebec, he had for- 
warded to Congress in June. The substantial interest 
thus disj^layed in the projected invasion of Canada, 
his own familiarity with the region, gained through 
frequent visits as a trader, and his creditable military 
services at Ticonderoga and Crown Point, all united 
to designate him as the most fit man to lead the 
second expedition which was now to be equipped. 
If he had not actually suggested the plan to General 
Washington he certainly gave it his enthusiastic 



BENEDICT ARNOLD 21 

approval, and to his other qualifications for its com- 
mand was added the confidence and appreciation with 
which the great Virginian openly regarded him. 

The duty to which Arnold was assigned was one 
of great responsibility, for many patriots, including 
even Washington himself, were inclined to believe 
that the issue of the struggle with England would 
turn upon the attempt at the conquest of Canada. 
Success there seemed certain to bring either peace 
with a redress of grievances or independence. Much 
also was risked in the campaign, for the season was 
already well* advanced, and the line of march lay for 
much of the way through an untrodden wilderness, 
far removed from any proper base of supplies. But 
difficulties of this description were not likely to daunt 
an officer of Arnold's energy and daring, while the 
supreme importance of the stake seemed to older and 
cooler heads than his sufficient excuse for the venture. 
Moreover, the failure of this expedition would not 
mean the failure of the campaign; Schuyler's army 
would not as a necessary consequence meet defeat. 

There were three principal ways by which an 
entrance into Canada might be sought, besides the 
Champlain route, over which Schuyler was advancing. 
One was by the Connecticut River, the Salmon River 
and the St. Francis, which would carry the invader 
to Lake St. Peter, about one hundred miles above 
Quebec; the second followed the St. John and Mad- 
awaska Rivers and passed over the carrying place to 
Kamouraska on the River St. Lawrence, about one 
hundred miles below Quebec. This second passage 



22 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

seems to liave been regarded as tlie easier of ascent 
by the British, and the most likely to be used should 
an attem]»t on Quebec be made. The third way was 
that by the Kennebec and the Chaudiere. There does 
not seem to have been any question in Wasliington's 
mind that tliis last route was the best for his i)ur- 
poses— indeed, the others seem not to have been seri- 
ously considered. 

The plan of campaign had nothing novel in it, be- 
yond the route over the inland waters of Maine and 
Canada and the element of surprise. The campaign 
of 1750-59 had been directed against the same objec- 
tive points, and with the identical purpose of dividing 
the forces of the enemy and reducing the two principal 
cities of the hostile country. Montgomery was follow- 
ing in the very footsteps of Amherst, while Arnold 
was called upon to play the part of the immortal 
Wolfe. In place of Bougainville and Bigot, Vaudreuil 
and Montcalm to oppose them, there was only Gover- 
nor Guy Carleton and a few other English and French 
veterans of inferior rank. Earlier still, the fleet of 
Phipps and the army of Colonel Schuyler had shown 
the way for Wolfe and Amherst, and as far back as 
1711 Admiral Walker's ill-fated armada and General 
Nicholson's provincials had undertaken to strike the 
same blows in similar fashion. 

But no previous expedition had been obliged to fol- 
low a path so dimly traced through almost unexplored 
wilderness, or to meet the hardships and perils which 
were in store for Arnold's devoted band. Theirs was a 
road much of which only marauding parties of painted 



BENEDICT ARNOLD 23 

savages or occasional wandering trappers and hunters 
had ever traveled, and so inaccurate was the informa- 
tion at Washington's command that both the distance 
and the difficulties of the way were much underesti- 
mated. 

' ' From the mouth of the Kennebec River to Quebec, 
on a straight line, ' ' he wrote to Congress, ' ' is two 
hundred and ten miles. The river is navigable for 
sloops about thirty-eight miles, and for flat-bottomed 
boats about twenty-two miles; then you meet Ticonic 
Falls, and from Ticonic Falls to Norridgewock, as the 
river runs, is thirty-one miles, from thence to the first 
carrying place, about thirty miles; carrying place 
four miles, then a pond to cross and another carry- 
ing place about two miles to another pond; then a 
carrying place about three or four miles to another 
pond, then a carrying place to the western branch of 
the Kennebec River, called the Dead River, then up 
that river as it runs thirty miles, some small falls and 
short carrying places intervening; then you come to 
the Height of Land and about six miles carrying 
places, into a branch which leads into Ammeguntick 
pond, the head of Chaudiere River, which falls into 
the St. Lawrence about four miles above Quebec. ' ' 

On comparing this description with the maps of 
to-day, we can correct its most striking inaccuracies; 
the length of the Dead River was understated, it 
seems, by fifty miles ; and there was no mention what- 
ever of the second or larger chain of lakes, much the 
more numerous and formidable, to the east of the 
Height of Land. 



21 AKXdLD'S KXl'MDITION TO QUEBEC 

Indians on tlie war-i)atli against the Maine coast 
settlers used to steal along these watercourses to 
make their lightning attacks, and there were known 
to be well-worn trails on many of the portages. As 
long l)et'ore as 1G89 j\r. de Portneuf, at the head of 
fifty French Canadians and sixty Abenakis, had 
crossed the country from Quebec and descended the 
Kennebec, destroying the English forts on Casco Bay. 
On the Kennebec itself, straggling settlements had 
reached beyond Fort Western (where Augusta now 
stands), as far as Fort Halifax, at the junction of the 
Kennebec and Sebasticook. There were even a few 
settlers as far as Norridgewock. But beyond this place 
it was not easy to obtain guides. There were few 
hunters or trappers who knew the river as far as 
the Twelve-Mile carrying jilace, now reached from 
Brigg's ferry on the eastern side of the river, and 
beyond that carrj'ing place there was a wilderness of 
forests, bogs, and mountains. 

Though from the St. Lawrence, French settlements 
had crept feebly up the wild Chaudiere nearly as far 
as the Eiver Du Famine, yet of the topography of 
the country intervening to the Height of Land, little 
or no infonnation was obtainable. Nevertheless, of 
this unknown and undescribed country there were 
only some eighty or ninety miles, as the crow flies, 
at the broadest calculation, and according to Wash- 
ington 's information even less. 

The greatest difficult^^ before the expedition from 
a military point of view lay in the inadequacy of the 
Kennebec settlements as a base of supplies in case of 



BENEDICT ARNOLD 25 

unforeseen emergencies. The hamlets, towns only in 
name, were hardly more than clearings in the forests 
which still covered the banks of this noble river. The 
settlement of the region had indeed begun as early as 
1639, when John Parker established his trading post 
and fishing station at the mouth of the river, but 
other pioneers had been slow to follow him, and 
whenever any considerable number had made homes 
for themselves in the wilderness, they and their fami- 
lies had met a tragic end in one of the Indian forays 
which for a century and a half wasted the borders of 
New England. 

By 1775 some progress in the settlement and civi- 
lization of the Kennebec valley had indeed been 
made, since the danger from the savages was 
now greatly diminished by the final expulsion of the 
French power from Canada. A fairly good road had 
been opened as far as Fort Western, and there was 
a wood road at least to Fort Halifax. Georgetown 
at the mouth of the river, Woolwich, Pownalbor- 
ough, Pittston, Vassalborough, and Winslow on the 
eastern bank. Broad Bay and Gardinerstown on the 
opposite shore, had made places for themselves in 
the wilderness and achieved names. But between 
Georgetown and the Falls of Norridgewock, a hundred 
miles above, there were probably not over five hun- 
dred white people, if so many. Pownalborough, the 
most pretentious village (the present town of Dres- 
den), numbered fully half of these, and was the shire 
town of the county of Lincoln. It needs no technical 
military knowledge to understand that a country so 



26 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

thinly peopled was poorly adapted to furnish a base of 
supplies even for an armament no larger than Arnold's. 

But, on the otlier hand, there were features of the 
situation distinctly favorable to the success of the 
undertaking. The very difficulty of communication 
between the Chaudiero settlements and the Kennebec 
towns made it unlikely that news of the expedition 
would reach Quebec much in advance of the troops 
themselves, and made a virtual surprise of the citadel 
possible. The Indians of the Maine forests were by 
this time pacified, and even well disposed to the col- 
onists' cause, and they had, moreover, been carefully 
conciliated by agents sent in advance of the expedi- 
tion itself. The Indians of the Norridgewock tribe, 
who had a white chief, Paul Higgins by name, had 
even gone so far as to march all the way to Cam- 
bridge in August, under the command of Eeuben 
Colburn, of Pownalborough, to tender their services to 
General Washington. No doubt their visit and the 
information they gave were among the reasons which 
convinced Washington that the descent upon Canada 
by way of the Kennebec was feasible. Similar assur- 
ances of amity and offers of support had come from 
the Penobscot tribe, and though little actual use was 
made of these new-found allies, no pains were spared 
to maintain friendly relations with them, and thus to 
make it possible for the expedition to traverse their 
country with security and confidence. 

Finally the spies and the rebel sjanpathizers who 
had placed their information at the service of Wash- 
ington and Arnold made it clear that the defenses of 



BENEDICT ARNOLD 27 

Quebec had been suffered to fall into comparative 
decay, while the fortress itself was most inadequately 
garrisoned. The walls had in places begun to crum- 
ble; there were few platforms for the cannon; the 
ditch was half filled with debris, and there was not a 
single article in store with which to begin the repair 
of the fortifications. Though there was plenty of 
ammunition, and a quantity of provisions could easily 
be obtained with fair notice, the Governor's purse 
was short, and there were many mouths to feed. 
Carleton himself, with all the troops he dared to 
withdraw, had gone forward to protect Montreal, and 
trustworthy spies reported that only fifty regular sol- 
diers were left in Quebec. Moreover, as we learn 
from the journals of British officers, then in the city, 
the garrison could rely on only about one hundred 
and thirty loyal citizens to support them, most of 
the population being either stubbornly neutral or 
frankly in sympathy with the invaders. 

It appears, therefore, that in spite of the hazardous 
nature of the enterprise, it was by no means desperate 
or hopeless. The question of its success or failure 
depended upon the energy and determination with 
which it was prosecuted— and upon the always doubt- 
ful fortune of war. Perhaps its sponsors were unduly 
sanguine of its happy result, but the prize which they 
coveted was a rich one, and well worth any risk within 
the bounds of reason. The project failed, and has 
met much consequent condemnation. Had it suc- 
ceeded, it would have been beyond question the 
most brilliant military exploit of the war. 



CHAPTER III 
THE EXPEDITION SETS FORTH 

The army gatliered under Wasliington's command 
at the siege of Boston numbered about eighteen thou- 
sand men, and was principally composed of New 
England volunteers. From this army it was deter- 
mined to detach something more than a thousand 
troops for the Quebec expedition— not a large force, 
yet outnumbering all the British regulars then in 
Canadian garrisons. General Washington was the 
better able to spare this detachment, because it was 
already evident that the British troops shut up in 
Boston had accepted the situation, and had not the 
least intention of making any vigorous attempt to 
raise the siege without reinforcements from England. 
Under these circumstances the American commander 
felt that the fewer men kept in the enforced inactivity 
of an investment the better, both for the morale of 
the army and the cause for which they were fighting. 
Had it not appeared that the difficulties of equipping, 
transporting and supplying a larger force would mul- 
tiply in a greater ratio than its increased effective- 
ness, more soldiers could easily have been added to 
Arnold's command without impairing the efficiency of 
the main army. 

September 6, 1775, orders were given to draft the 

(28) 



THE EXPEDITION SETS FORTH 29 

men for Quebec from their regiments, while a company 
of carpenters was sent forward to Colburn's shipyard, 
at Agry's Point, near Pittston, about two miles below 
Gardiner, on the eastern bank of the Kennebec, where 
the two hundred bateaux which the expedition would 
require were to be built. 

Two days later, the detachment was ordered to 
rendezvous at Cambridge, where it was encamped on 
the Common until the 13th, collecting provisions and 
filling up each company of musketeers to eighty- 
four effective men, rank and file. The whole force, 
all volunteers, was composed of three companies of 
riflemen and two battalions of musketeers, and num- 
bered about eleven hundred men. Camp attendants, 
officers' servants, guides, and a few men enlisted on 
the Kennebec must have later swelled this number to 
nearly twelve hundred. 

The rivalry among the many rifle companies in 
camp at Cambridge, all of which were eager to volun- 
teer for the expedition, was so great that, to avoid 
jealousy and ill-feeling, the captains were allowed to 
draw lots. Chance decided in favor of the companies 
of William Hendricks, Matthew Smith and Daniel 
Morgan. These riflemen were mountaineers and fron- 
tiersmen from Pennsylvania and Virginia, the two 
companies first named from the former state, and 
Morgan's from the Old Dominion. Inured to every 
hardship, capable of every exertion, thoroughly expert 
in woodcraft and trained in the sharp school of border 
Indian warfare, they were, in every respect, valuable 
recruits for such an enterprise as this. Morgan's 



30 ARNOLD'S j:xi>j:j)Itiox to qukhkc 

f'oiHpiuiy liad iiiai'clied tlie six liiindrod miles from 
W'iiiclic'ster, \'iri2;iiii,'i, to Cambridge, in three weeks, 
without losing a man from sickness or desertion. The 
Pennsylvania companies made a record for endurance 
scarcely less remarkable, marching more than twenty 
miles a day for twenty-two days. 

Brought up amid the alarms and massacres of the 
French and Indian wars, taught from their youth to 
regard the red man as their hereditary and inevitable 
enemy, they had perforce adopted his method of 
warfare, and fought by stratagem and ambuscade 
oftener than under the articles of war. On their 
own frontiers, indeed, they had sometimes gone so 
far in the imitation of their savage foe as to blacken 
and paint their bodies and faces, and occasionally 
used their tomahawks to scalp as well as kill. On 
the present occasion, however, there was no such re- 
lapse into primitive barbarity. Fearing neither " man, 
Indian, nor devil," and God only so much as to 
make them fight the heathen the better, the red coat 
of a British regular inspired them with more con- 
tempt than terror. Braddock's fatal campaign had 
taught them that fine uniforms and rigid adherence 
to army regulations were not enough to make soldiers 
invincible. 

Their marksmanship was the wonder of the camp 
at Cambridge. Loading and firing on the run, they 
would often pierce a target only seven inches in 
diameter at a distance of two hundred and fifty yards 
— an exploit which seems almost miraculous when 
the weapons of that day are considered. As soldiers 



THE EXPEDITION SETS FORTH 31 

they were ready to maintain the best of discipline. 
Later in the war, when Morgan organized his famous 
regiment of riflemen, it became the most dreaded 
body of men in the Continental service, and was 
generously declared by Burgoyne, at whose defeat it 
assisted conspicuously, the finest regiment in the 
world. But they abhorred the inactivity of camp life 
and were only too eager to share in the certain perils 
and possible glories of the Quebec undertaking. 

The New England volunteers were divided into two 
battalions, one commanded by Lieutenant-C o 1 o n e 1 
Roger Enos of Vermont, an officer of American birth, 
who had, however, the advantage of having seen ser- 
vice in the British army, and Major Return Jonathan 
Meigs, a tradesman-soldier from Connecticut; while 
the other was commanded by Lieutenant-C o 1 o n e 1 
Christopher Greene, a son of one of the justices of 
the Rhode Island Supreme Court, and Major Timothy 
Bigelow of Massachusetts. The companies composing 
the first battalion were led by Captains Scott, Samuel 
McCobb, Thomas Williams, William Goodrich, Oliver 
Handchett and Henry Dearborn. Those of the second 
battalion were commanded by Captains Samuel Ward 
(a son of the governor of Rhode Island), Simeon 
Thayer, John Topham, Jonas Hubbard, and Oliver 
Colburn. These men, although of less conspicuous 
physical proportions and martial accomplishments than 
the riflemen, were still sturdy, active and courageous, 
hardly yet accustomed to the standard of discipline 
that must obtain in every effective fighting force, but 
well fitted to sustain the arduous campaign they had 



32 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

imdertakon. ^I'lioir officers wore in some cases from 
wealtliy and aristocratic families, while others were 
sim])ly lionest farmers or tradesmen, who had aban- 
doned their humdrum occu])ations to take up arms 
in a canse they felt to he just, and liad been chosen 
to command by neighl)ors who knew and trusted 
them. Earnest patriots all, they gave concrete expres- 
sio]i to that democratic spirit which was henceforth 
to animate the young republic they labored to establish. 

The detachment, as a whole, was of the very flower 
of the colonial youth,— young men of a spirit not 
easily to be restrained by their elders, whom parental 
warnings of the fatigues and i^erils to be encountered 
only served to fire with more ardent yearnings for 
a share in the glory of success. Two hundred and 
fifty came from Rhode Island, one hundred from Con- 
necticut, four hundred from j\lassachusetts, including 
the District of Maine, one hundred from New Hamp- 
shire, two hundred from Pennsylvania, one hundred 
from Virginia, and a few volunteers from New Jersey. 
Even at that time America was glad to accept the 
aid of the sons of Erin, and there were in the little 
army nearly two hundred "emigrants" — fully a sixth 
of the detachment— from the old country, a large 
majority of whom were from Ireland. 

It was wisely a body of young men. Arnold him- 
self was but thirty-four. Enos, the oldest of the 
officers, and, as the event was to prove, the least reli- 
able, was forty-five. The other officers were all 
below forty. Morgan was thirtj^-eight, a splendid 
man, standing over six feet in his moccasins and 



THE EXPEDITION SETS FORTH 33 

weighing two hundred pounds. His aspect was com- 
manding, his voice stentorian, his strength and en- 
durance invincible. He had first seen service as . a 
teamster in Braddock's army, and was a battle- 
scarred veteran of more than one border ' ' war. ' ' On 
the march he wore leggings and a cloth, in the Indian 
style; his beard was allowed to grow, and one mem- 
ber of the expedition refers to him as having the 
appearance history gives to Belisarius. Smith, the 
hero— or devil— of the massacres at Conestoga and 
Lancaster jail, of which Parkman tells us in ' ' The 
Conspiracy of Pontiac, ' ' was somewhat younger ; Meigs 
a trifle older; Greene, Hendricks, Bigelow and the 
others were younger still. 

Most of them had seen service of some sort, in 
spite of their youth. Captain Thayer had been a 
member of the famous ' ' Rogers ' Rangers, ' ' and his 
hairbreadth escape from the massacre of Fort William 
Henry was terrifying enough to have excused his 
devoting the remainder of his life to his peaceful 
occupation as a maker of periwigs. Captain Dear- 
born, a young man of twenty-four, who had educated 
himself to be a physician, but was destined to pursue 
a semi-military, semi-political career, with no little 
distinction, had received his baptism of fire at Bunker 
Hill. Christian Febiger, a young Danish emigrant 
with a military education, had won his spurs in the 
same battle, and acted as adjutant of the expedition. 
Besides the regular officers, there were a number of 
commissioned volunteers, all youths, some almost 
striplings. Among them were Aaron Burr, the son of 



34 ARNOLD'S EXI'KDITK )X TO QUEBEC 

the president of Princeton College, and afterward 
famous in American liistory; ]\lattliias Ogden of 
New Jersey; Eleazer Oswald, who served as Arnold's 
private secretary; Charles Porterfield of Virginia; 
Kev. Samuel Spring of Newbuiyport, the chaplain, 
and a few others. The connnissariat, which promised 
to prove a most difficult department to conduct, ap- 
pears to have been organized by Captain Farnsworth 
and an assistant, Jeremiah Wheelwright. 

On September 13, all prej^arations being completed, 
the second battalion left Cambridge on their march 
for Newburyport, the port of embarkation for the 
mouth of the Kennebec. That day they reached Mai- 
den and there passed the night. At five in the after- 
noon of the same day the first battalion followed, 
and quartered that night at the meeting-houses at 
Mystic and ^ledford. On the following day both 
battalions continued their march— the second camp- 
ing at Beverly, while the first, passing through the 
towns of Maiden and Lynn, encamped at Salem and 
Danvers. The weather was hot and sultry. At sun- 
set on the 15th the second battalion reached New- 
buryport, the first following them next morning. The 
men were quartered, some in the Presbyterian meet- 
ing-house, some in two of the ropewalks, some at 
Davenport's Inn, while the riflemen spread their tents 
in a field near liolfe's lane. The officers were enter- 
tained by J\[r. Nathaniel Tracy and ]\Ir. Tristram 
Dalton. The detachment received an ovation upon 
its arrival, and the patriotic citizens of old Newbury 
were lavish in their hospitality. 



THE EXPEDITION SETS FORTH 35 

Meanwhile Arnold remained at Cambridge, doubt- 
less to receive bis final orders, until the morning of 
the 15th, an unlucky Friday. It is highly probable, 
too, that Washington held him back for the very 
latest despatches from Schuyler, who wrote Washing- 
ton on the last day of August that Montgomery was 
to leave' Crown Point that day. Stopping at Salem 
for dinner, and to arrange for the forwarding of some 
two hundred pounds of ginger, and two hundred and 
seventy blankets received from the Committee of 
Safety, he arrived at Newburyport at ten o'clock the 
same evening. 

He brought with him not only General Washing- 
ton's instructions for the conduct of the expedition, 
but also a liberal supply of printed hand-bills con- 
taining a manifesto addressed to the people of Canada, 
which were to be distributed broadcast as soon as 
the Chaudiere settlements should be reached. The 
detailed orders, outlining the commander's duty in 
specific emergencies, and the somewhat inflated rhet- 
oric of the manifesto, hardly demand insertion here, 
but it is worth while to print Washington's general 
letter of instruction to Colonel Arnold, in order that 
we may understand the spirit in which the invasion 
of Canada was undertaken, and appreciate the sin- 
cere hopes which were then entertained by the patriot 
leaders, of widespread and effective cooperation on 
the part of the Canadians themselves. The letter is 
as follows : 



36 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

CJamp at Cambiudok, 14tli .September, 1775. 

To Colonel Benedict Arnold. 

Sii\' — You are intrusted with a command of the utmost 
consequence to tlie interests and liberties of America. Upon 
your conduct and courage, and that of the officers and soldiers 
detached on this expedition, not only the success of the 
present enterprise, and your own honor, but the safety and 
welfare of the whole continent may depend. I charge you, 
therefore, and the oflficers and soldiers under your command, 
as you value your o\^ti safety and honor, and the favor and 
esteem of your country, that you consider yourselves as 
marcliin<j: not through the country of an enemy, but of our 
friends and brethren, for such the inhabitants of Canada, and 
tlie Indian nations, have approved themselves in this unhappy 
contest between Great Britain and America, and that you 
check, by every motive of duty and fear of punishment, every 
attempt to plunder or insult the inhabitants of Canada. 
Should any American soldier be so base and infamous as to 
injure any Canadian or Indian in his person or property, I do 
most earnestly enjoin you to bring him to such severe and 
exemplary ])unishment, as the enormity of the crime may 
require. Should it extend to death itself, it shall not be dis- 
proportioned to its guilt, at such a time and in such a cause. 

But, I hope and trust, that the brave men who have volun- 
tarily engaged in this expedition, will be governed b}^ far 
ditferent views, and that order, discipline and regularity of 
behavior, wall be as conspicuous as their valor. I also give 
it in charge to you to avoid all disrespect of the religion of 
the country, and its ceremonies. Prudence, policy, and a 
true Christian spirit, will lead us to look Avitli compassion 
upon their errors without insulting theuL Wliile we are con- 
tending for our own liberty, we should be very cautious not 
to violate the rights of conscience in others, ever considering 



THE EXPEDITION SETS FORTH 37 

that God alone is the judge of the hearts of men, and to him 
only in this case, they are answerable. 

Upon the whole, sir, I beg you to inculcate upon the 
officers and soldiers the necessity of preserving the strictest 
order during the march through Canada ; to represent to them 
the shame, disgrace, and ruin to themselves and their country, 
if they should by their conduct turn the hearts of our brethren 
in Canada against us; and, on the other hand, the honors 
and rewards, which await them, if by their prudence and 
good behavior they conciliate the affections of the Canadians 
and Indians to the great interest of America, and convert 
those favorable dispositions they have shown into a lasting 
union and affection. Thus wishing you, and the officers 
and soldiers under your command, all honor, safety, and suc- 
cess, I remain, Sir, 

Your most obedient humble servant, 

George Washington. 
Special instructions were also given to Arnold con- 
cerning the son of Lord Chatham, who was known to 
be at this time traveling in Canada. This young man 
was to be shown every mark of deference and respect, 
should he by any chance fall into the hands of the 
expedition. ' ^ You cannot err, ' ' wrote Washington, ' ' in 
paying too much honor to the son of so illustrious a 
character and so true a friend of America." The 
opportunity to give effect to these instructions never 
presented itself, but their spirit shows how deep and 
genuine was the grateful affection which Chatham's 
sturdy defense of the principle of liberty had aroused 
in the breast of the truest American patriots. 



CHAPTER IV 
THE ASCENT OF THE KEXNEBEC 

The IGtli day of September being Sunday, the 
troops at Newburyport attended divine worship at 
Rev. Jonathan Parson's meeting-house, or listened to 
their chaplain, Rev. Mr. Spring. The next day a 
grand review was held, and on the 18tli the whole 
detachment embarked on board ten trans]:»orts : among 
them the Commodore, the flagship, carrying Arnold; 
the sloops Britannia, Conway, Abigail and Swallow; 
the schooners Houghton, Eagle, Hannah and Broad 
Bay, the latter under Captain James Clarkson, who 
was to act as sailing-master for the fleet. 

Three small boats had been sent forward to ascer- 
tain if there were any British vessels in the offing. 
One of these having returned and reported the coast 
clear, the following morning about ten o'clock the 
transports weighed anchor and with ' ' colors flying, 
drums and fifes playing, the hills all around being 
covered with pretty girls weeping for their departing 
swains," set sail. The fleet was bound, sailing N.N.E. 
with pleasant weather and a fair wind, for the mouth 
of the Kennebec River, one hundred and fifty miles 
from Newburyport. 

The vessels crossed the bar before Newburyport 
harbor and lay to, while the Swallow, which had 

(38) 



THE ASCENT OF THE KENNEBEC 39 

stuck fast on a rock, was lightened of her quota of 
troops and gotten safely off. It was not till two in 
the afternoon that the signal for sailing was again 
given. The fleet ran along shore until midnight, 
when, in response to another signal, they hove to 
with head off shore, near Wood's island. 

The wind had increased, and the sea was so rough 
by night that King Neptune raised his taxes without 
the least difficulty where King George had failed, and 
the reluctant soldiers ' ' disgorged themselves of the 
luxuries so plentifully laid in ere they embarked." 
During the night the hardy backwoodsmen and farm- 
ers had a true taste of the sea, for the waves dashed 
high, it thundered and lightened, and the morning of 
the 20th dawned with fog and heavy rain. They made 
sail early in the morning and arrived at one p. m. at 
the mouth of the Kennebec. Here they anchored for 
six hours at Ell's Eddy, and then proceeded as far as 
Georgetown, where they lay to all night. 

While the fleet of transports were at anchor at Par- 
ker's Flats, the Georgetown minister. Rev. Ezekiel 
Emerson, and one of his deacons, Jordan Parker, 
came aboard the Commodore to pay their respects to 
Arnold and the officers. Impressed with the impor- 
tance and hazardous nature of the enterprise, the 
devout parson thought it incumbent upon him to 
offer a prayer in length commensurate to all the cir- 
cumstances. His invocation was continued (so tra- 
dition asserts) for an hour and three-quarters, with 
what effect on the officers and crew is not recorded. 

As the vessels in advance entered the Kennebec, 



40 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

a nnmljor of men under nniis hailed them from the 
shore, and upon being answered that the vessels car- 
ried Continental trooi)s and were in need of a pilot, 
immediately sent one on board. The rest of the fleet, 
separated during the night in the fog and the storm, 
were anxiously awaited. However, all came u]) dur- 
ing the day, except the Conway and the Abigail. 
Wind and tide now favoring, they proceeded up the 
Kennebec past the island hamlet called ' * liousack, ' ' 
or Arrowsic, across the broad expanse of Merry-Meet- 
ing Bay, where the waters of the Androscoggin and 
five other smaller streams join the Kennebec, and 
finally past Swan island and the ruins of Fort Eicli- 
mond, some twenty-five miles above the river's mouth. 

A little above this island they came to anchor 
opposite Pownalborough, where there were a block- 
house, a court-house and a jail, besides a rambling 
settlement of perhaps twoscore houses. Here they 
were joined by the missing sloops, which had by 
mistake run past the mouth of the Kennebec the 
day before. 

Some of the ships were delayed by running upon 
shoals and upon Swan island, owing to faulty pilot- 
ing, and during the 22d and 23d the others awaited 
their arrival at PoT\Tialborough, while details were 
counted off to take charge of the bateaux now nearly 
completed at Colburn's shipyard, a short distance 
above, at Agry's Point. Within two weeks two hun- 
dred bateaux had been built and eleven hundred men 
levied, supplied with provisions and transported to 
this place, over two hundred miles from Cambridge. 



THE ASCENT OF THE KENNEBEC 41 

This was rapid work for those days of slender re- 
sources and slow transit. 

Next day, some still sailing some advancing in 
bateaux, and others marching by land, the troops 
reached Fort Western, six miles further up the river. 
This outpost consisted of two blockhouses and a 
large house or barrack one hundred feet long, enclosed 
with pickets. The headquarters were at Esquire 
Howard 's, ' ' an exceedingly hospitable, opulent, polite 
family," while the army built itself a board camp, as 
tents were few and wood plenty. For three days the 
little army lay at Fort Western, getting men, provi- 
sions and bateaux up from Gardinerstown and Agry's 
Point, and in making final preparations for their 
march — at this, the last place where supplies might 
be obtained in the least adequate to their needs. 

The halt was enlivened by festivities of a gen- 
erous sort, for the citizens of the vicinity were for 
the most part ardent Whigs, and rejoiced in the op- 
portunity of honoring a band of patriots embarked 
in so glorious an undertaking. There is mention of 
one feast in particular— a monstrous barbecue of 
which three bears, roasted whole in true frontier 
style, were the most conspicuous victims. 'Squire 
Howard and his neighbors contributed corn, potatoes, 
and melons from their gardens, quintals of smoked 
salmon from their storehouses, and great golden 
pumpkin pies from their kitchens. As if this were 
not sufficient, venison was plenty, and beef, pork, 
and bread were added from the commissary's sup- 
plies. Messengers were sent to the local notables 



42 ARNOLD'S EXPKDlTiOxX TO QUEBEC 

—William Gardiner, at Cobosseecontee ; Major Col- 
burn and 'Squire Oaknian, at Gardinerstown; Judge 
Bowman, Colonel Cushing, Caj^tain Goodwin, and 
'Squire Bridge, of Pownalborougli. Social oi)i)ortuni- 
ties were not over-frequent on the frontier, and all 
the guests invited made haste to accept, and came 
accompanied by their wives. 

To the sound of drum and fife the soldiers were 
marched up to the loaded tables and seated by the 
masters of ceremony, while the guests and officers 
sat l)y themselves at a separate table. Dr. Senter 
and Dr. Dearborn, as particularly familiar with anat- 
omy, were selected to carve the bears, and amidst 
the most uproarious jollity the feast proceeded. At 
the end toasts w^ere drunk— presumably in the never- 
failing rum launch of New England— and the enter- 
tainment concluded amid patriotic airs performed 
upon drum and fife, and the heartiest good humor of 
the entire company. 

One of the most interesting guests at this al fresco 
banquet was a young half-breed girl, Jacataqua by 
name, who seems to have been in some sort the 
sachem of a settlement of Indians on Swan island. 
Partaking of the best traits of her mixed blood— 
French and Abenaki— she is described by those who 
knew her as possessing unusual intelligence, self-re- 
liance and winsomeness. The fair visitor had already 
conceived a romantic attachment for young Burr, who 
was famous all his life for his successes with women, 
and according to tradition, the two had gone on sev- 
eral hunting exi:)editions together, and had, in fact. 



THE ASCENT OF THE KENNEBEC 43 

killed the three bears which furnished forth the feast 
described above. So genuine was the Indian girl's 
affection for the young officer, in spite of the brief 
opportunity offered for its cultivation, that she insisted 
on accompanying him and his comrades to Quebec. 
So, at least, we are told, though it is by no means 
impossible that Jacataqua's wild blood, and her 
familiarity with the woods and streams which lay be- 
fore the little army, would have made the journey 
not uncongenial, even if her gentler emotions had not 
been stirred by the fascinating Burr. She may also 
have found encouragement for her resolution in the 
fact that the wives of James Warner and Sergeant 
Grier, of the rifle corps, had determined to follow their 
husbands to Canada, and, like Madame Sans-Gene, 
share with them whatever hardships and perils they 
were forced to meet. We shall have occasion, later 
in our narrative, to note more than once the con- 
stancy and fortitude of these brave women. 

Here, too, at Fort Western, occurred the first loss 
of life— a soldier, Reuben Bishop by name, being 
shot and killed during some obscure quarrel by a 
comrade named McCormick. The murderer was sent 
back to Cambridge, under guard, and died in prison 
on the very day set for his execution. 

Before the expedition was ready to move again, 
Berry and Getchell, two scouts who had been sent 
forward at Washington's orders during the previous 
month, to spy out the road, made their appearance 
and submitted their report to Arnold. They had gone 
fifty or sixty miles up the Dead River, had found the 



44 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

road in general well enough marked, tlie carrjang 
places in fair condition and the water, though shoal, 
no more so than was inevitable at that season of the 
year. Thej^ also brought news which might be con- 
sidered disquieting, to the effect that they had met an 
Indian who told them that he had been commissioned 
as a spy by Governor Carleton, with instructions to 
warn Quebec of any hostile movements on the part of 
the colonists from the direction of the Kennebec, He 
added that there were more spies, both whites and 
Indians, stationed near the headwaters of the Chau- 
diere, and having his own suspicions of Getchell's and 
Berry's business in the wilderness, he had threatened 
to convey instant information of their presence there 
to Quebec if they pushed any further up the river. 

Arnold, however, seems to have been little dis- 
turbed by this intelligence, for he reported to "Wash- 
ington that the scouts had seen ' ' only one Indian 
(Nattarius), a native of Norridgewock, a noted vil- 
lain, and very little credit, I am told, is to be given 
to his information." Far from regarding the presence 
of Indian sjiies along his proposed road as any 
excuse for hesitation or delay, he hurried forward two 
well-equipped scouting parties. One under Lieuten- 
ant Church, consisting of seven men, a surveyor and 
guide, was to take the exact course and distances of 
the Dead River; the other party, under Lieutenant 
Archibald Steele, of Smith's company, was to ascer- 
tain and mark the paths used by Indians at the 
numerous carrying places in the wilderness, and also 
to ascertain the course of the Eiver Chaudiere, which. 



THE ASCENT OF THE KENNEBEC 45 

as we have seen, runs from the Height of Land to- 
ward Quebec. 

These scouts, traveling rapidly in one small and 
one large birch-bark canoe and leaving Fort Western 
before the main body, were expected to perform their 
duty with great celerity, and to report to Arnold at 
the Twelve Mile carrying place on the Kennebec, 
about thirty miles above Norridgewock. 

September 25, Captain Morgan, with Smith's and 
Hendricks's companies of "Eiflers" constituting the 
first division, embarked in bateaux, the river not being 
further navigable, except for such flat-bottomed boats, 
with orders to proceed with all speed to the Twelve 
Mile carrying place, and to follow the footsteps of 
the exploring parties, examining the country along the 
route, freeing the streams of all impediments to their 
navigation, and removing all obstacles from the road: 
in short, to take such measures as would facilitate 
the passage of the rest of the army. The following 
day the second division, under Lieutenant-Colonel 
Greene, with Major Bigelow and Captains Thayer's, 
Topham's and Hubbard's companies of musketeers, 
also took to their bateaux and followed the riflemen, 
and on the 27th the third division, under Major Meigs 
and consisting of Handchett's, Dearborn's, Ward's 
and Goodrich's companies, in its turn took up the 
march. Lieutenant-Colonel Enos, with William's, 
McCobb's, Scott's and Colburn's companies, brought 
up the rear. 

The bateaux had been ''hastily built in the most 
slight manner of green pine," and though not very 



46 AKNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

large were very heavy. AVlien loaded with provisions, 
amniunition and camp equipage, it required the utmost 
exertions of four men, two at the bow and two in 
the stern, to haul and push them against the current 
in shallow water. Sixteen bateaux were set off to 
each company. There were fourteen companies, there- 
fore the start was made with two hundred and twenty- 
four or more bateaux. 

The advant<ages of the formation above referred to 
were very conspicuous on the march, as the rear divi- 
sions not only had the paths cut for them, and the rivers 
made passable for their boats, but encampments cleared 
and bough huts ready made. On the other hand, since 
the baggage and provisions were distributed according 
to the difficulties which each division must encounter, 
many of the first companies took only two or three 
barrels of flour with several" casks of bread; while the 
companies in the last division had not less than four- 
teen of flour and ten of bread. 

The first day's journey was not difficult, but as the 
men pushed on they found the current much stronger. 
As they approached the Three Mile Falls, below Fort 
Halifax, the crews of the bateaux were obliged con- 
tinually to spring out into the river and wade— often 
up to their chins in water, most of the time to their 
waists. At the foot of the falls a landing was made 
and the provisions and bateaux carried around the 
rapids. Here, and at all the other carrying places the 
bateaux had first to be unloaded and carried across on 
the shoulders of the men, with the assistance of a few 
oxen (the last of which, however, were slaughtered for 



THE ASCENT OF THE KENNEBEC 47 

food before the Dead Eiver was reached). The ammu- 
nition, kegs of powder and bullets, packages of flint 
and steel, extra muskets and rifles— besides a musket 
for each soldier, axes, kegs of nails and of pitch, and 
carpenters' tools for repairing the bateaux and other 
purposes, had to be packed across on the men's backs, 
for they had no pack animals. Besides all this, casks 
of bread and pork, barrels of flour, bags of meal and 
of salt, the iron or tin kettles and cook's kit, tents, 
oars, poles and general camp equipage and extra 
clothing (of the latter there was far too little), all 
must be laboriously gotten across each carrying place, 
repacked and reloaded in the bateaux and floated on 
the river against the impetuous current. 

On the 28th, Arnold, who had remained at Fort 
Western superintending the embarkation and attend- 
ing to the return of a few soldiers already invalided 
to Cambridge, entered his birch canoe with two In- 
dians, and progressing swiftly in comparison with the 
loaded bateaux and the footmen of his army, soon 
arrived at Vassalborough, eight miles above Fort 
Western. Here the canoe, which leaked, was changed 
for a periagua, and his progress continued till within 
four miles of Fort Halifax, where he lodged for the 
night. 

The first three divisions had, on the evening of 
September 29, passed Fort Halifax and the first carry 
around Ticonic Falls. That same morning the fourth 
division, delayed in collecting provisions and finishing 
bateaux, left Colburn's shipyard. Though the leaves 
were already falling, the weather had been up to this 



48 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

time that of Indian summer, and most of the men 
were in the best of health and spirits. Having ex- 
pected hai'd and rough work, they breasted the seem- 
ingly impossible with lightness and good humor. The 
keen, bracing air of the backwoods incited to exercise 
and comi)etition ; the shining river with its ever- 
changing channels, rocky and boulder-strewn, bor- 
dered with forest and meadow, lured them into for- 
getfulness of the bitter northern winter, yet to be 
endured. Jokes and jeers were the only consola- 
tion for doubters and laggards; cheers and shouts of 
applause the reward of energy" and perseverance. 
But, in spite of every etfort, Meigs's division made 
only seven miles on the 30th, pulling, shoving, haul- 
ing and poling most of the day, waist-deep in the 
water, as Arnold records, "like some sort of amphib- 
ious animals." 

Their young commander, speeding up the stream 
in his periagua, caught up with them about ten 
o'clock that morning just as they were crossing the 
carry around Ticonic Falls, above Fort Halifax. He 
lunched at eleven o'clock at one Crosier 's and then 
hired a team and carried his baggage overland, thus 
avoiding the ''Five Mile ripples" above the falls, 
through which the bateaux crews were toiling. At 
five o'clock he struck the river again and proceeded 
up it a mile and a half, camping with the division 
of Major Meigs, which had consumed the remainder 
of the day in laboriously forcing their bateaux over 
the ripples. 

Colonel Greene's division, after pushing through 






s- O 




THE ASCENT OF THE KENNEBEC 49 

these long stretches of ripples below and above 
Ticonic Falls, had found that the river widened and, 
like a broad blue ribbon, led them for eighteen miles 
through a fertile country between banks still verdant 
with the clothing of summer, though the low hills 
inland wore the solemn colors of fast-advancing au- 
tumn. The current was quick and the water very 
shoal in many places, but there were no other obsta- 
cles to delay them. They encamped only a few miles 
in advance of Meigs, at a place known as Canaan, 
on the west side of the stream three or four miles 
from the next carry, at Skowhegan Falls. 

Here the river tumbled twenty-three feet over 
ledges of rock, divided into two cataracts by a precip- 
itous forest-crowned island. This obstacle so retarded 
the current that, as the stream found escape, it thun- 
dered its rejoicings with a deafening roar and rushed 
on for several hundred yards through a very deep 
and narrow gorge with all the abandon of a mountain 
torrent. The carry was a most difficult one, for the 
heavy bateaux had to be hoisted and dragged up the 
steep rocky banks while the men struggled in the 
fierce rush of the swirling current. Meanwhile, to add 
to their discomforts, the weather became cold and 
raw, and the wet and weary soldiers were forced to 
build huge fires to warm themselves and dry their 
dripping clothing. On the night of September 30 it 
was so cold that the soaked uniforms could not be com- 
pletely dried, and froze stiff even near the fires, the 
men being obliged to sleep in them in this condition. 

By this time the bateaux had revealed their hur- 



50 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

ried and defective construction, and had begun to 
leak so badly that the crews were always wet, whether 
wading in the water or standing in the boats, and of 
course the arms, ammunition and baggage which were 
stowed in them likewise suffered. Many were little 
better than common rafts, and "could we," writes one 
of Arnold's men, ''have then come within reach of the 
villains who constructed them, they would have fully 
experienced the effects of our vengeance. It is no l)old 
assertion to say that they are accessory to the death of 
our brethren who expired in the wilderness. May 
Heaven reward them according to their deeds. ' ' 

The bateaux crews were divided into two squads of 
four men each, the relief marching along the shore. 
Only four men at one time could conveniently carry 
the bateaux when it became necessary to do so. ^Mien 
the boat grounded at a carrying place its crew of 
four men sprang into the water beside it, and having 
inserted two hand-spikes under the flat bottom, one 
at either end, raised the boat to their shoulders and 
staggered with it up the bank. The relief rendered 
such assistance as it could in lightening the boat- 
load, clearing the path, and helping the bearers when 
a more difficult obstacle than usual intervened. 

When rapids were encountered it was often found im- 
possible to pole the clumsy craft against the swift cur- 
rent, and the crews were obliged to take to the water, 
' ' some to the painters and others heaving at the stern. ' ' 
The water was in general waist-high, and the river 
bottom very slippery and uneven ; the crews were 
often carried off their feet and obliged to swim to 



THE ASCENT OF THE KENNEBEC 51 

shoaler water. Those who could not swim had some- 
times very narrow escapes from being drowned. Even 
with their united efforts, the stream was so vio- 
lent as many times to drive them back ''after ten 
or twelve fruitless attempts in pulling and heaving 
with the whole boat 's crew. ' ' Every night found the 
men exhausted with toil, weak and shivering from 
cold, hunger and fatigue. But every bright and brac- 
ing autumn morning seemed to revive anew their 
energy and courage. 

September 30 and October 1, the second division 
consumed in the herculean task of passing between 
the Falls of Skowhegan, and in ascending ' ' Bumba- 
zee's rips," seven miles to Norridgewock, which they 
reached at noon. The rifle division were only one 
day's journey in advance of them. Greene encamped 
on the west side of the river. Arnold passed the 
night of the 1st of October at a certain Widow War- 
ren's, about five miles above Skowhegan Falls. The 
next morning he overtook Morgan with the first divi- 
sion, which had just got its baggage over a steep 
carrying place— longer than any yet encountered— 
at Norridgewock Falls, and encamped close by ''on a 
broad flat rock, the most suitable place" they could 
find. They had now left Fort Western, their weak 
base of supplies, fifty miles behind them. 

October 2, pressing hard upon the second division, 
the third encamped on the west side of the river, 
opposite the island carry at Skowhegan Falls, and on 
the 3d reached Norridgewock, the last frontier settle- 
ment on the Kennebec, where in 1724 an expedition 



52 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

from New England had massacred the French Jesuit 
missionary, Sebastian Kale, and his whole congre- 
gation of Indian converts. The vestiges of an Indian 
fort and a lioman Catholic chapel, some intrench- 
ments, and a covered way through the bank of the 
river, made for convenience in getting water, were 
still to be seen. 

Several days were passed in getting boats, provi- 
sions and ammunition across tliis long and difficult 
carry (more than a mile in length), around the Falls 
of Norridgewock. Much valuable time was also spent 
in caulking and repairing the bateaux, which, merci- 
lessly handled by the rocks and rapids, were in 
almost useless condition. At length the expedition 
was ready to move again, and on October 4 the lead- 
ing companies began to push foi-ward toward the 
next carrying place at Carratunk Falls, eighteen miles 
above. They found the country around them grow- 
ing more and more hilly, the forest more continuous, 
and the river itself dangerously shallow. Those who 
followed the boats on foot could scarcely tramp fifty 
yards through the now almost leafless thickets with- 
out coming upon moose-tracks, and on one occasion 
at least the riflemen feasted on a fine young bull 
brought down by one of their number. 

Carratunk Falls— sometimes called the De\dl's Falls 
— are fifteen feet in pitch, but the portage was only of 
fifty rods, though very rough. The river was here 
confined between rocks which lay in piles forty rods 
in length on each side; but the water was so shoal 
that the men became much exhausted with constantly 



THE ASCENT OF THE KENNEBEC 53 

lifting and hauling the bateaux. This point the rifle- 
men reached October 4; the fourth division, or rear 
guard, was four days behind. There was no delay 
here, each division pushing on again as soon as the 
portage was crossed. 

Mountains now began to appear on each side of 
them, high and level on the tops, and well wooded ; 
each with a snow-cap. The highest, far distant, 
loomed to the westward across a dismal landscape of 
gloomy forest, whitened with wintry frosts, and seen 
through drizzling rain and river mists as chilling as 
the icy water in which the bateaux crews waded. Dis- 
comfort and hardship increased with each advance into 
the wilderness. For three or four days it had rained 
a part, at least, of each day and night. It had been 
a long, dry summer, and nature was restoring the 
balance. From the date of their leaving Norridge- 
wock— the last outpost of civilization— the elements 
seemed to combine to cool the ardor and dampen the 
spirits of men and officers. Lagging and straggling 
from sickness, laziness and wilfulness made their 
ominous appearance, and were checked with difficulty. 

The commissariat also had its misfortunes. A 
supply of dried codfish which had been received after 
leaving Fort Western had been stored, in the con- 
fusion, loose in the bottoms of the bateaux. This was 
washed about in the fresh water leakage until it was 
all spoiled. Many barrels of dry bread too, and some 
of peas, haying been packed in defective casks, 
absorbed water until they burst, and their contents 
had to be condemned. The rations of the soldiers 



54 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

v\'ere thus already reduced to ])()rk and flour. A few 
barrels of salt beef remained, but it proved unwhole- 
some as well as unpalatable. 

Nevertheless, most of the men showed undiminished 
spirit and pressed forward bravely, some forcing the 
boats u}) the swift but shallow channels of the river, 
others marching along its rough and thickly overgrown 
banks. By the 8th the riflemen had reached the 
Twelve Mile carrying place, where they were to leave 
the Kennebec for its tributary the Dead River, and 
encamped there. A large brook, which flows out of 
the first lake on this carry, poured into the Kennebec, 
just above their tents. Four hundred yards distant 
a large mountain, in shape a sugar loaf, appeared to 
rise out of the river, and turn it sharply eastward. 
All about them stood the forest primeval, dark, silent 
and mysterious. Under a leaden sky the north wind 
tossed the heavy boughs of the evergreens, sent 
showers of dying leaves from the half -naked oaks and 
maples, and slowly swayed the taller j^ines and beeches, 
which creaked and groaned in dismal lamentation at 
the touch of this forerunner of the winter. The rain 
still continued to fall with infrequent intermission. 
The next day Colonel Greene's division came up, and 
two days later the third division made its appear- 
ance and joined its comrades who had preceded it 
in clearing the faint trails over which the bateaux 
must be taken. 

The physical condition of the men, who were now 
but on the threshold of the most difficult and perilous 
stage of their journey, had begun to show serious 



THE ASCENT OF THE KENNEBEC 55 

deterioration as the natural result of the unfavorable 
weather. Cases of dysentery and other camp evils, 
which the bracing air might have cured, were aug- 
mented by long exposure in the water during the day 
and the cold, marrow-eating river-mists of night. 
Invalids were now frequently sent back along the line 
to the rear division, which, added to its greater load 
of provision, had to bear the full weight of every 
tale of woe. Nature, whose forest retreats and fast- 
nesses the patriots were so boldly invading, had now 
turned her face from them, and taking advantage of 
their incessant strain and labor, with her champions, 
storm and cold, began ruthlessly to thin their ranks. 

On October 12, when Lieutenant-Colonel Enos with 
the fourth division arrived at the Twelve Mile carry- 
ing place, out of the eleven hundred men who left 
Cambridge, the detachment could now muster only 
nine hundred and fifty . The loss had been chiefly 
occasioned by sickness and desertion, for there had 
been only one death— that of Reuben Bishop. But 
Captain Williams was so ill with dysentery that 
his life was despaired of. Arnold, meanwhile, left 
Norridgewock on the 9th and encamped with Captain 
McCobb that night on an island within two miles of 
Carratunk Falls. On the 11th he arrived at the 
Twelve Mile carry, and received from Lieutenant 
Church, who had, according to his orders, explored 
the route as far as the Dead River, his report and 
survey. 



CPIAPTER V 
THE MARCH INTO THE WILDERNESS 

The Twelve ]\[ile carrying place embraced in real- 
ity four distinct portages: The first lay W. N. W., 
three and one-quarter miles, along the side of a high 
hill, through the forest. It was then marked by a 
well-worn Indian trail and led to a pond, now called 
Big Carry pond, which is one mile wide as the army 
crossed it, though the trail must have borne further 
to the north than the existing one, which now reaches 
the pond at Washburn's Sporting Camp. At this 
pond Arnold relates in his journal '' the people caught 
a prodigious number of very fine salmon trout, noth- 
ing being more common than a man taking eight or 
ten dozen in an hour's time, which generally weighed 
half a pound apiece." There was next a carry of 
half a mile and twenty rods, almost due west, to 
Little Carry pond, a low-lying and marshy lake, from 
the extremity of which a long, narrow and swampy 
creek, overhung with gray moss festooned from dead 
and dying spruce and cedar trees, reached out towards 
the next carry. 

Having passed this pond, the soldiers again un- 
loaded their bateaux and crossed a third portage, 
nearly a mile and a half in length, bearing W. by N., 
to a much larger pond, now called West pond. Their 

(5G) 



THE MARCH INTO THE WILDERNESS 57 

landing place on the farther side, if local tradi- 
tion is to be credited, was the little bay, still called 
"Arnold's Cove." This pond was nine miles in cir- 
cumference and surrounded with cedar timber. The 
Indian trail now ascended sharply from the water, and 
the bateaux had again to be lifted on the shoulders 
of the men and borne over the northeastern spur of 
a snow-crowned mountain, which flung its gloomy 
shadow half across the lake. The distance across this 
carry was two and three-quarter miles and sixty rods, 
the course W. N. W. At the end of this last and 
most difficult portage, the last mile of which lay 
across a miry and treacherous bog, the Dead River 
was at length reached. 

It proved impossible for the three companies of 
riflemen to finish the work assigned to them before 
the other divisions arrived. If, on leaving Fort West- 
ern, they could have been transported by magic to the 
point where their labors began, the time given them 
to clear a passage for the army would hardly have 
sufficed for them to cut their way through to the first 
of the three ponds. It was necessary, therefore, for 
the whole detachment to assist in the task of swamp- 
ing a passable road through unbroken forests, where 
scarcely so much as an imperfectly blazed trail could 
be found. 

What strange and lively scenes were now to be 
witnessed along this Twelve Mile carry, a stretch of 
sixteen miles of lake and forest! The stalwart pio- 
neers of Morgan's, Hendricks's and Smith's companies 
in long advancing files, struck to right and left at the 



58 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

giants of tlie forest, hacking witli tomahawk and 
hunting-knife, and hewing with axes till the great 
trees swayed, tottered and fell groaning to the ground; 
or, supported for a moment by the lesser trees 
that stood, like men at arms, in serried ranks about 
them, crashed down at last, carrying many of their 
feeble retainers to a common rain, while the forest- 
covered hillsides reechoed wdtli the din. The lusty 
young provincials who followed, well schooled in such 
woodcraft, shouted and sang with hearty good will, 
as they dragged out the dismembered trunks and top- 
l)led them into the underbrush by the side of the 
jDath. The windfalls and bushes were quickly cleared 
away by the next squad of stout New England soldiery, 
and the sky looked down through the dense forest, 
for the first time i^erhaps in centuries, upon a broad 
arrow struck through its very heart, only stumps and 
boulders remaining to be conquered. Beside the lakes 
and morasses, Nature, in the insidious ambush of dis- 
ease, had won; on the field in open fight, step by 
step, mile by mile, she must yield. 

Here and there we may imagine a solitary sentinel 
with long rifle and belted tomahawk leaning against 
a tree, keen-eyed as a hawk for the lurking Indian, 
the distant calls and shouts of his toiling comrades 
wafted toward him on the soft, sweet-scented air of 
the dense forest. Now and then a line of men bend- 
ing under hea\'y^ boats winds up a steep incline of the 
new-made road, their shoulders still wet from their 
dripping burdens, lifted so recently from the waters 
of one of the lakes. These men are followed by 



? 




-^ i^ ix "^ 



Fold-out 
Placeholdi 



This fold-out is being digitized, and will I 

future date. 



THE MARCH INTO THE WILDERNESS 59 

others bent double under every variety of camp equip- 
ment, stores and supplies of war. There is no patience 
whatever with shirking. Officers work side by side 
with their men, sharing their food, their luck and their 
toil. All are equals, till the line of march is re-formed 
at the other end of the carry. 

It was thought worth while to try a yoke of oxen 
to haul the bateaux across the portage, but it very 
soon became apparent that the oxen themselves were 
as cumbersome to get over pine and cedar stumps, 
two or three feet in diameter, as the boats were, and 
the attempt was abandoned. Two were driven singly 
around the pond, to be slaughtered on the Dead River, 
and their struggles through the bush, over wind-falls 
and between thickly grown tree trunks were pitiful to 
witness. Moose tracks were noticed at every turn, 
and four moose had already been killed by the rifle- 
men. "With this supply of fresh meat and plenty of 
trout, the hearts of the first division were kept up 
to accord somewhat with the fullness of their stomachs. 

For five days Major Meigs, with a detail of ten 
men from each of his companies, superintended the 
passage of troops across the Twelve Mile carry and 
the building of a blockhouse between the first and 
second ponds for the reception of the sick, who had 
now increased to a formidable number. Another 
blockhouse had been already erected on the Kennebec 
side of the first portage. The first blockhouse be- 
came known as Fort Meigs and the second was chris- 
tened ''Arnold's Hospital," and was no sooner finished 
than filled. 



60 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

Kliciimatism, dysentery, malaria aud other ail- 
ments, the inevitable consequences of the hardships 
and exposure which the men endured, threatened al- 
ready to destroy the effectiveness of the force. 

While the men were breaking the road across 
these portages, three emaciated and exhausted men 
of the Chaudiere scouting party, Lieutenant Steele, 
Getchell and Wheeler, coming from the westward, 
staggered into camp. At the peril of their lives and 
with the utmost difficulty, they had fulfilled their 
orders, as they thought, and investigated and spotted 
the trails leading to the Chaudiere, but having wrecked 
both canoes and lost or exhausted their provisions, 
they had left two of their party several miles up the 
Dead Elver, too weak from lack of food to retreat 
further towards succor. They brought the discourag- 
ing news that the course of the Dead River was nearer 
eighty than thirty miles— not counting an unmapped 
chain of lakes at its head. They had expected to 
meet the Abenaki on their fall hunt, with whom they 
had been instructed to make an alliance, though they 
had other orders to capture or kill that chief called 
Natanis or ' ' Nattarius, ' ' who had represented himself 
to Getchell and Berry earlier in the fall as a spy in 
Governor Carleton's employ. They had seen nothing 
of the Indians, but had found the wigwam of Natanis 
on the banks of the Dead Kiver. His nest was warm, 
but the wily bird had flown. 

A relief party was desjDatched at once in search 
of Boyd and Henry, the missing members of Lieu- 
tenant Steele's detachment. It never reached them, 



THE MARCH INTO THE WILDERNESS 61 

but a few days later the two men came stumbling 
into the camp at the further end of the carry, ema- 
ciated almost beyond recognition, their lives due to 
nothing but the desperate and almost superhuman 
energy with which they had struggled against hunger, 
fatigue and a hostile and savage wilderness. 

As soon as Lieutenant Steele was able to under- 
take the duty, he and Lieutenant Church were again 
ordered forward with twenty men and a surveyor to 
clear the portages as far as Chaudiere pond (now 
known as Lake Megantic), and to explore the Chau- 
diere Eiver itself as far as the nearest Canadian 
settlements. 

By October 16 the little anny was at last across 
the carry and encamped on the banks of the Dead 
River. The men were thoroughly exhausted by the 
five days of unremitting toil they had undergone, and 
especially by the crossing of the almost impenetrable 
spruce and cedar swamp which covered the last mile 
of the last portage. Through this the soldiers had 
plunged and staggered as best they might, weighed 
down with their ponderous loads, their legs entangled 
by the thick moss and bushes with which the bog 
was overgrown, often struggling knee deep in filthy 
and tenacious mire. Some had been forced to spend 
a night there, camped in mud and stagnant water, 
amid a tangle of bushes, rushes and rotting tree 
trunks. 

But in spite of these hardships, more severe, 
doubtless, than the men had been led to expect, 
complaints were few and there was much cheery and 



62 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

buoyant rortitiido. All well know the magnitude of 
the undertaking for which they liad vohmteered, and 
that it was not only for the service of their country, 
but offered signal opportunities for honor, glory and 
advancement. Their officers left nothing unsaid or 
undone that could hearten them during their inces- 
sant fatigues. The blows of a whip could not have 
extorted such work from abject slaves as these brave 
fellows submitted to without a murmur. 

Colonel Arnold spent these days on the carry in 
despatching scouts to the front, and expresses to 
General Washington, to General Schuyler, and to 
friends in Quebec, and in attempting to advance his 
base of supplies from Fort Halifax and Norridge- 
wock to the carry. 

To Washington he wrote hopefully that he "made 
no doubt of reaching the Chaudiere in eight or ten 
days, the greatest difficulty being already passed." 
Provisions, such as they were, sufficient for twenty- 
five days, remained, enough, as he estimated, to i>er- 
mit them to return to the Twelve ]\Iile carry, if for 
any reason the advance became unwise or impossible. 
There the commissary of the expedition had been in- 
structed to establish a depot of supplies brought up 
from the Kennebec country below. The " tardiness " 
of the march (for the expedition was several days 
behind its schedule), he explained as necessary owing 
to the unforeseen difficulties of the road; the spirit 
and industry of both officers and men he reported 
as excellent. 

To two friendly Indians, named Eneas and Sa- 



THE MARCH INTO THE WILDERNESS 63 

battis, he entrusted a letter addressed to * ^ John 
Manier, Esq., or Captain William Gregory, or Mr. 
John Maynard, Quebec." In substance this letter in- 
formed his correspondents that Arnold was on the 
Dead River about one hundred and sixty miles from 
Quebec ' ' with about two thousand men, ' ' the number 
he thought he might muster, counting Indians and 
Canadians, before he arrived at Quebec, and that the 
design was to cooperate with General Schuyler and 
to assist the Canadians in resisting Great Britain's 
unjust and arbitrary measures. It also asked whether 
any notice of Arnold's departure from Cambridge 
had been received at Quebec, and if any advices had 
reached them from General Schuyler. The letter 
concluded with a request for information as to the 
number of troops and vessels at Quebec, and begged 
that some gentleman of Arnold's acquaintance might 
be induced to come from Quebec to meet him. En- 
closed in this letter was another for General Schuyler, 
which these gentlemen were desired to forward, briefly 
stating his progress towards Quebec, and asking for 
intelligence and advices from him. 

Arnold has been severely criticised for intrusting 
such important communications to Indians, for these 
letters never reached the persons to whom they were 
addressed, and, being intercepted, fell into the hands 
of Cramahe, the lieutenant-governor of Canada, in 
command at Quebec during Governor Carleton's ab- 
sence at Montreal. Through him they gave the 
people of Quebec their first intimation of the ap- 
proach of the provincial detachment. Eneas was 



64 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

subsequent]}" recognized among tlie Indians under his 
brother tlie chief Natanis, who met the army at Sar- 
tigan, and later, at Quebec. Althougli he is said to 
have protested that he was ca})tured, there seems to 
be little room for dou])t that, if this was true, he was 
not altogetlier an unwilling cai)tive. 

But if all this be granted, we must consider what 
means of communication were at hand; and what 
was the necessity of opening such communication, 
both with General Schuyler and with Quebec. An 
Indian might enter Quebec without suspicion, while a 
strange white man could not, and these Indians were 
accompanied and carefully watched as far as possi- 
ble by a white companion, named Jackquith, and by 
French Canadian sympathizers, selected by him. 
Moreover, Washington, in his written advice, suggests 
the employment of a St. Francis Indian for this very 
purpose. Perhaps if Arnold had known that both 
Eneas and Sabattis were relatives of that suspicious 
character, old Natanis, he would not have trusted 
them with his letters, but as it was he seems to 
have done his best with the means at his command. 

From the third portage he wrote two letters, dated 
October 15, to Lieutenant-Colonel Enos, to which we 
shall have occasion to refer again, as they bear on 
that officer's future conduct. In these, he ordered 
him to leave men behind him, with an officer, to see 
that there was a bateaux at each pond; to collect all 
the bateaux adrift down the Kennebec, and those aban- 
doned on the carry; to send back the sick; to hurry 
forward. He also tells him that he designs liolding a 



THE MARCH INTO THE WILDERNESS 65 

council of war on the Dead River, where he expects 
particular advice from Canada. He states that * ' the 
three first divisions have twenty-five days' provisions, 
which will carry them to Chaudiere pond and hack, 
where we shall doubtless have intelligence and shall 
be able to proceed or return, as shall be thought best. ' ' 



CHAPTER VI 
FLOOD— FAMINE— DESERTION 

To the south and west of the spruce bog at the 
last portage of the Twelve Mile carry, there was a 
natural meadow of great extent covered with long 
grass, more than waist-high, which the men cut and 
used for covering at night, the army being inade- 
quately supplied with tents and blankets. On the 
west, the meadow reached to the foot of the moun- 
tains several miles off, of which Mt. Bigelow— now 
so called— its summit thirty-eight hundred feet above 
sea-level, was the chief. Across the river to the 
north and east, at a distance of perhaps eight or ten 
miles, ran a range of high hills, the boundary of the 
valley of the Dead Eiver on that side. The small 
creek already referred to formed a convenient harbor 
and landing j^lace near the first camp of the army on 
the Dead River, there about sixty yards wide. 

The Dead River here creejDS down its course with 
a scarcely perceptible movement, its waters black, 
smooth, and overhung with thick grasses and bushes, 
by which, as the water was too deep for setting poles 
and they had few oars, some of the crews were obliged 
slowly and tediously to pull along the bateaux loaded 
still further with invalids, who were too weak to stand 
the fatigues of the march. The Mount Bigelow range, 

(66) 



FLOOD -FAMINE -DESERTION 67 

capped with snow, presented from this point of view 
its steepest and loftiest summit, its flank blackened 
by deep shadows (since the sun rises at this season 
directly behind it), and, forbidding and awe-inspiring, 
overhung the valley. As they advanced they found 
it lay directly between the army and home; it seemed 
gradually to close the road behind them and bar their 
retreat. Snow was falling lightly. 

The original order of the divisions having been 
waived to save time, Colonel Greene, with the second 
division, passed the riflemen, still working on the 
roads, and made his way up the Dead River about 
twenty-one miles, arriving the 16th of October at the 
deserted wigwam of the suspected Indian spy Natanis, 
described by Steele's scouts as "prettily placed on a bank 
twenty feet high, about twenty yards from the river, 
and with a grass plot extended around, at more than 
shooting distance for a rifle, free from timber and 
brushwood. ' ' Three miles above it they went into camp. 

The troops in the bateaux continued their snail- 
like progress, but most of the men crossed on foot 
the points of land between the serpentine windings of 
the river, which in this vicinity recoils upon itself so 
often that to advance directly ten miles one must 
frequently paddle or pole nearly twice that distance 
by water. The Mount Bigelow range held them like 
a lodestone; it seemed impossible to escape its shadow 
—often they seemed to be again approaching it. 
During the day they had carried seven rods around 
low falls, now known as ' ' Hurricane Falls. ' ' The carry 
at these falls was a convenient half-way camp to 



G8 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

Natanis's wigwam, and Dearborn's conipany, and 
probably the whole third division also, camped there 
on the 16th. Next day Dearborn's men joined Colo- 
nel Greene's division. Arnold was encamped at the 
same place where Greene's men were resting and 
waiting for the next division to come up with provi- 
sions, for theirs were nearly exhausted. He had ar- 
rived at three o'clock in the morning. They were em- 
ploying the time in making up cartridges, filling their 
powder horns, and looking to their accoutrements. 
There seems to have been no apprehension of any 
Indian attack, and no extraordinary precautions were 
taken to avoid surprise, beyond the scouting i^arties 
mentioned— not even regular guard-mounting— but 
Arnold wished to use every moment of time to some 
advantage, and to keep the men out of mischief. The 
two oxen driven across the Twelve Mile carry had been 
slaughtered at the first encampment on the Dead River 
on the 18th, and five quarters were sent forward to this 
part of the detachment in advance. This was the 
last fresh domestic provision,— thereafter the whole 
army must rely on flour, pork and whatever they 
could forage from the wilderness. 

Tlie inequality in the distribution of the provisions 
among the different companies, resulting from the 
causes mentioned, had now conspicuously appeared. 
Topham's and Thayer's companies of Greene's divi- 
sion were brought as early as the 16th, to half allow- 
ance, and on the 17th, had only five or six pounds of 
flour per man. Accordingly, Arnold, much concerned, 
sent back Major Bigelow with twelve bateaux and 



FLOOD -FAMINE -DESERTION 69 

ninety-six men, with orders to draw upon Lieutenant- 
Colonel Enos in the rear, for all the provisions he 
could spare, at the same time writing a letter to 
Enos, in which the extremity of the foremost divisions 
was clearly set forth. 

On the 17th also Morgan's division passed Greene's 
encampment and went on for Chaudiere pond. The 
weather on the 18th set in again very rainy, and the 
third division having now joined Greene's, both 
remained here till the afternoon of the 19th, when the 
rain ceased. Then Meigs with his division marched 
on (for they had still a fair quantity of provisions), 
under orders to push for the Height of Land and, 
while awaiting the rear there, to make up cartridges 
and furnish a number of pioneers to clear the por- 
tages. They continued their route up the river five 
miles, and encamped on the north bank. That after- 
noon they passed three small falls; the river current, 
except at the falls, continued gentle. Thus we find 
that the riflemen had resumed their position at the 
head of the detachment, and were now only a few 
miles above the third division, becoming second in the 
line. 

On October 19 Arnold closely followed Meigs 's divi- 
sion and two days later he overtook the riflemen, but 
as Morgan's encampment was bad, he proceeded one 
mile higher up the river and camped about eleven 
that night, very wet and much fatigued. It had 
begun to rain again, and though the riflemen made 
twenty miles on the 18th, having only one short 
carrying place to surmount, the rain then drove them 



70 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

into their tents and confined tlieni there the greater 
part of the next four days, during which they only 
advanced five miles further. They were the more 
readily induced to delay, as they were nearly out of 
provisions and were counting upon the rear divisions 
to bring them supplies. 

Greene's division meanwhile had packed the car- 
tridges they had made in casks and loaded their 
bateaux, and then, in enforced idleness, their rations 
daily more insufficient, awaited anxiously tlie supplies 
Major Bigelow and his detail had been sent to bring 
up. This division had now been delayed for five or 
six days to no purpose, and had fallen to third place 
in the column. Their impatience was not lessened bj^ 
their empty stomachs and the rai)id disappearance of 
the scanty provender which remained to them. The 
third division, holding the second place in the line, 
made steady progress, in spite of the thick and rainy 
weather, and were fortunate in finding the water 
plentiful, the current gentle and the portages few 
and short. 

But as the bateaux, when fully loaded, could carry 
only three men each, this long and rough march was 
accomplished by most of the men on foot. As they 
forced their way through thickets and fell over logs 
and pitfalls, climbed over blow-downs and scrambled 
over the rocks, they reduced their clothing to tatters. 
The torrents of rain saturated and stained their uni- 
forms, blankets and camp equipage, and msted their 
firearms and tools. Sometimes the underbrush and 
thickets were so dense that they saved time and labor 



FLOOD -FAMINE -DESERTION 71 

by wading in the shoals under the banks of the river. 
The rough bed of the stream, which was full of stones 
and boulders, tempted many to keep their shoes on 
while they waded, and moccasins or army shoes worn 
on wet ground or under water for many days were 
soon almost useless. The huge fires they built at 
night were not sufficient to warm and dry them be- 
fore the teeth of the most robust were chattering, and 
whole companies, as the chill of nightfall drew on, 
shivered as if with the ague. It was not a week before 
many of the improvident who had relied on one pair 
of shoes were barefoot. 

During the morning of the 21st the rain in- 
creased in violence, the river began noticeably to rise, 
and the wind, swinging to S. S. W., threatened a 
hurricane. Every division of the detachment, ex- 
cept that of the riflemen, was buffeting the storm as 
best it might; and more or less successfully accord- 
ing to the character of the ground where it happened 
to be. As darkness came on the hurricane was fairly 
upon them, and trees which overhung the banks were 
blown down or uprooted in every direction, rendering 
further passage as dangerous as it was difficult. The 
risk of encamping in the forest was great, and the 
men selected the most open places they could find, 
but many could not use their tents for fear of falling 
trees, and it was quite impossible to keep up their 
fires in such a deluge of rain. So the night passed 
in the midst of perils and discomforts which must 
have tried the most cheerful and courageous spirit. 
Many had no shelter whatever from the furious storm 



72 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

save such bark huts as they had time hurriedly to 
construct. 

As morning approached the encampments became 
flooded and untenantable. The river had already risen 
three feet. It was no longer " dead " ; it was wonder- 
fully and fearfully alive with rushing water, drift and 
debris. Daylight revealed several of the bateaux 
which had been hauled up, sunken almost out of sight. 
Barrels of powder, pork and other supplies had been 
washed off the bank and carried down stream. The 
storm abated, but the river continued to swell in vol- 
ume. It finally rose to the unparalleled height of nine 
feet, overflowed its banks, spread through the forest 
intervale in low places for a mile or more on either 
side, and from a freshet became a flood, which dashed 
over the falls and ledges with a five-mile-an-hour 
current. Only two similar floods, if local tradition can 
be trusted, have occurred since this of 1775. All the 
small tributary rivulets (and they were not a few) were 
increased to an enormous size. The few guides be- 
came confused, and the copies of Montressor's map 
which some of the officers had were therefore worse 
than useless. The footmen were obliged to trace 
these false rivers for miles till some narrow place pre- 
sented a ford, and even then were often able to cross 
only by felling large trees for foot-bridges. 

No longer obliged to carry the bateaux over por- 
tages, the crews floated and hauled them against the 
current through the cuttings in the woods made by the 
riflemen. Progress was more snail-like than ever. 
The second division advanced only six miles, the third 



FLOOD -FAMINE -DESERTION 73 

only four. Lieutenant Humphreys and his whole 
boat's crew were overturned, and lost everything 
except their lives— ''with which they unexpectedly 
escaped. ' ' 

Smith's company of riflemen who were encamped 
on a bank eight or ten feet above the river, two or 
three miles below Ledge Falls, the most difficult cata- 
ract on the Dead River, on the night of the tempest, 
had fared even worse than the others, for they had 
reached the foothills of the Height of Land. The 
river rose so suddenly in the darkness that the first 
notice of their danger was towards morning, when the 
water swept under their shelters and carried away 
most of their provisions and camp equipment. 

Arnold has been accused by Burr of not sharing 
the privation of his men on this expedition. Certainly 
he fared no better than the rest on this night, for he 
saved himself only by sacrificing his baggage, and re- 
treated to a hillock just above the flood, where he 
remained till morning in great discomfort and anxiety. 

As soon as there was daylight enough to enable 
them to see their way in the forest, the riflemen re- 
sumed their march. Deceived by the overflow, they 
mistook a western branch of the Dead River— which 
meets it a few miles from the encampment from which 
they had just been driven— for the main stream. 
Some of them journeyed up this branch seven miles 
before they discovered their mistake and found an 
opportunity to cross. The country round about is 
much cut up with ponds, rivulets, steep hills and bog- 
holes, and when overflowed was a puzzling labyrinth 



74 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

for the most experienced woodsman. The snagging 
and spotting of Steele 's and Church 's men, owing to 
the freshet, was of little avail, nor was the compass 
of much service, for few, if any, of the captains had 
received the courses and distances on the river. The 
freshet and flood could not have been foreseen by their 
commander. But the riflemen's ill-luck brought them 
some advantage, for on this misleading stream they 
discovered the wigwam of Sabattis, brother of Natanis, 
and, hidden in bark cages in the tree-tops, his kettle, 
cooking utensils and some dried meats. What they 
could not consume they destroyed, and crossing the 
stream made a bee-line across the land between them 
and the Dead River. 

The footmen of the third division, falling into the 
same error, got four miles on their way up this stream, 
when they were set right by a boat's crew despatched 
by Arnold, who had foreseen their mistake and predica- 
ment. They then made the best of their way to the 
main channel, crossing the branch on a tree. As they 
approached a fall which, with the river at its usual 
height, is only four feet, in the midst of a channel 
not much more than fifty feet wide, they perceived a 
cataract three times the width of the real channel, 
and beheld the crews of their boats making a hope- 
less struggle to stem the current. Five or six were 
already upset and lost, with all their contents, a quan- 
tity of clothing, guns and provisions, and ' ' a consider- 
able sum of money destined to i^ay off the men. ' ' The 
riflemen were to be seen seated in shivering groups 
along the bank below the falls, gazing longingly upon 



FLOOD — FAMINE — DESERTION 75 

the opposite bank, where were landed such of their 
bateaux, provisions and camp equipage as had escaped 
the flood. 

These falls— Ledge Falls as they are called— were 
the most formidable they had encountered on the Dead 
River. Eocky ledges on either side rose to a height 
of thirty or forty feet, like the open floodgates of a 
gigantic dam, and the river sweeps down a narrow 
gorge between them, as through a sluiceway, with a 
strong current even when the waters are low. The 
first of the long chain of lakes to be crossed before 
coming to the Height of Land lies hardly eight miles 
distant, and these, shut in by precipitous mountains, 
form natural reservoirs of which the Dead River is the 
outlet. The valley narrows as it reaches these lakes, 
and the intervale is cut up by steep hills and deep 
ravines. The circuits the army was obliged to make 
to avoid the overflowing of the river became wider and 
more fatiguing,— especially as, owing to their separa- 
tion from their bateaux, the men were without food or 
shelter except such provision from the previous day's 
rations as the more prudent might have husbanded in 
their knapsacks or pockets. 

Greene's division was in perhaps the worst plight 
of all. Bigelow's party had returned, but with only 
two barrels of flour by way of provisions, having 
found it impossible to get more from Colonel Enos. 
Discouraged by the scarcity of supplies, and the addi- 
tional hardships the freshet compelled them to undergo, 
the men were still further shaken by the sight of 
returning boats, laden with invalids from Morgan's 



76 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

and Meigs's divisions, who assured tliem of the hope- 
lessness of any further i)rogress against the obstacles 
which nature had set in their path, and exliorted them 
to turn back and save their own lives at least. But 
the brave fellows showed no signs of faltering, and 
pressed forward dauntlessly, though with slow and 
toilsome steps, into the wilderness, — not like the 
Light Brigade, with the inspiring note of bugles and 
the cheers of an army, fired with the glorious in- 
spiration of a cavalry charge, but yet more heroically, 
into the very jaws of a slow and terrible death by 
famine, at the mercj^ of wolves and wild beasts, into 
a country held by an enemy. Reduced to half a pint 
of flour per man, even the salt washed out of their 
boats, they awaited their commander's arrival, to 
consult over their desperate condition. 

A council of officers, over which Arnold presided, 
had been held at the camp of the riflemen and the 
third division below the falls the evening before, and 
in accordance with its resolve, Captain Handchett, 
with fifty-five men, had hurried on by land for Chau- 
diere pond and the French settlements to obtain sup- 
plies. The sick and those unfit for duty were sent 
back, with an officer and a few well and able-bodied 
men to care for the worst cases, to Colonel Enos, 
who was directed to give them such comfort as he 
could, and expedite their return to the Kennebec and 
Cambridge. 

On the 24th of October the two leading divisions 
moved again. It was snowing gently, and daylight 
on the 25th disclosed two inches of snow on the 



FLOOD -FAMINE -DESERTION 77 

ground. The ground was difficult and progress slow, 
but on the 26th Meigs's men carried their bateaux, 
now few in number, out of the river and launched 
them in the first of a long chain of lakes, which led 
to the foot of the Boundary Mountains, to them be- 
come as the Promised Land to the long-wandering 
children of Israel. They passed over the first lake 
two miles to a narrow gut two rods over, then poled 
up a narrow strait one and a half miles long; then 
passed over a third lake, three miles ; then up another 
connecting strait, half a mile; and at last entered 
a fourth lake only a quarter of a mile wide. After- 
noon found them poling and dragging up a narrow, 
tortuous gut, three or four miles in length, running 
through a desolate swamp. At evening they came 
to a portage fifteen rods across, and there encamped. 
Arnold was in advance with Handchett 's detail, camped 
several miles beyond. 

On the 27th Meigs's men crossed the carrying place 
to a lake half a mile over; made another carry of 
one mile; then passed across a little pond one-quarter 
of a mile wide; then a portage of forty-four rods to 
another lake two miles wide. They crossed this and 
came to the Height of Land and the long carry of 
four and one-half miles to the Chaudiere waters. 
Here they received orders to abandon their bateaux, 
and to transport only one for each company across 
the mountainous portage. But Morgan, who preceded 
them, unwilling to leave the spare ammunition of the 
detachment which had been intrusted to his company 
of Virginians, and foreseeing that when the great task 



78 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

was once accomplished and they should reacli the 
Canadian waters his men would thank him for their 
punishment, carried over seven of his boats and 
launched them in the river running down seven miles 
from the Height of Land to Chaudiere Lake. This 
stream was then confused by many with the true 
Chaudiere. It is now called the Seven Mile stream 
or Arnold's River. Hendricks's men also attempted 
this, and persisted until their shoulders were so bruised 
and chafed that they could not bear a touch without 
shrinking. They had carried most of their bateaux 
to the top of the ridge, but finally abandoned all but 
one before they reached the Seven Mile stream. Mor- 
gan's all-enduring men are said to have worn the 
flesh from their shoulders in the gallant execution of 
his orders. 

Morison, one of Hendricks's riflemen, describes this 
portage, which he says the army denominated '' the 
terrible carrying place," as a considerable ridge cov- 
ered with fallen trees, stones and brush. ' ' The ground 
adjacent to the ridge is swampy, plentifully strewed 
with old dead logs, and with everything that could 
render it impassable. Over this we forced a passage, 
the most distressing of any we had yet performed; 
the ascent and descent of the hill was inconceivably 
difficult. The boats and carriers often fell down into 
the snow; some of them were much hurt by reason 
of their feet sticking among the stones. Attempts 
were made to trail them over, but there was too 
much obstruction in the way. Besides, we were very 
feeble from former fatigues and short allowance of 



FLOOD -FAMINE -DESERTION 79 

but a pint of flour each man per day for nearly two 
weeks past, so that this day's movement was by far 
the most oppressive of any we had experienced. ' ' 

The bateaux of Meigs's division were hauled up 
during the afternoon of the 27th, and all but six for 
each company abandoned ; the provisions distributed 
and everything got in readiness to cross the '* terrible 
carry " over the Boundary Mountains. Most of their 
supply of powder was found to be ruined by damp- 
ness, and was accordingly destroyed. 

We must now return to the forlorn camp of 
Greene's division, near Ledge Falls, where events of 
the utmost moment were in progress. The desperate 
straits to which Greene's men were reduced by the 
failure of their provisions have already been alluded 
to, and we have seen that Major Bigelow's party was 
able to procure only two barrels of flour from the rear 
guard with which to relieve their comrades' necessi- 
ties. As a matter of fact, supplies were running low 
with Enos's division, as well as with the others. 
Though they were supposed to be bringing up the 
bulk of the army's provisions, they had met with the 
same misfortunes which had overtaken the rest of the 
detachment. Leaky bateaux, accidents on the por- 
tages, and finally the great freshet, had depleted the 
reserve supply, until the officers of the rear guard 
found themselves in possession of what they consid- 
ered hardly enough to take their own men across the 
divide. The urgent appeals of Greene fell, therefore, 
on unwilling ears ; even Arnold 's peremptory orders 
could induce them to part with only a small part of 
their stores. 



80 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

In this situation of affairs a settlement of the ques- 
tions at issue became necessary, and a council of war 
was called to meet at Greene's camp, the officers from 
his own and Enos's divisions being sunnnoned. From 
the first it was apparent that the latter were deter- 
mined to turn back, the insufficiency of the provisions 
and the increasing difficulties of the undertaking 
proving to be unanswerable arguments to their minds. 
By the casting vote of Colonel Enos himself, who 
gave his voice for going forward, it was voted not 
to retreat; but no sooner was this decision reached 
than the three captains of his division, McCobb, Wil- 
liams and Scott, held an informal council of war 
among themselves. At its conclusion they announced 
that they would not lead their men into the almost 
certain starvation and death they saw as the only 
issue of this reckless march into a hideous wilderness, 
but would retire at once to the Kennebec settlements. 
Upon this Colonel Enos decided, with profusely ex- 
pressed regret, though apparently without much reluc- 
tance, that his dut^'' lay with his division, and that if 
it determined to retuiTi to New England, his place 
was at the head of its columns. 

The officers of Greene's division, although they 
had borne such sufferings and hardships as those of 
the rear guard had not even witnessed, were still 
unanimous in their determination to press foi'ward, 
and their indignation with Colonel Enos and his sub- 
ordinates was profound. Reproaches and entreaties 
were alike inetfectual in altering these officers' minds, 
however, and two more barrels of flour were all the 



FLOOD -FAMINE -DESERTION 81 

additional supply that the timorous rear guard could 
be induced to surrender to their half-starving com- 
rades. 

These are the quaint words in which Dr. Isaac 
Senter, the surgeon with Greene's division, describes 
the proceedings, and voices the exasperation with 
which they inspired him: 

They (Colonel Enos and his officers) came up before noon, 
when a council of war was ordered. Here sat a number of 
grimacers, — melancholy aspects who had been preaching to 
their men the doctrine of impenetrability and non-perse- 
verance, Colonel Enos in the chair. The matter was debated 
upon the expediency of proceeding on to Quebec, the party 
against going urging the impossibility, averring the whole 
provisions, when averaged, would not support the army five 
days. After debating the state of the army with respect to 
provisions, there was found very little in the division camped 
at the Falls (which I shall name Hydrophobus) ; the other 
companies not being come up, either through fear that they 
should be obliged to come to a divider, or to show their dis- 
approbation of proceeding any further. The question being 
put whether all to return or only part, the majority were for 
part, only, returning. Part only of the officers of those 
detachments were in this council. 

Those who were present and voted were: For proceed- 
ing: Lieutenant-Colonel Enos, Lieutenant-Colonel Greene, 
Major Bigelow, Captain Topham, Captain Thayer, Captain 
Ward. 

For returning : Captain "Williams, Captain McCobb, Cap- 
tain Scott, Adjutant Hyde, Lieutenant Peters. 

According to Colonel Arnold's recommendation, the in- 
valids were allowed to return, as also the timorous. The 



82 ARNOLD'S I^XPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

officers who were for poinf? forward requested a division of 
the provisions, and that it was necessary they should have 
the far greater quantity in proportion to the number of men, 
as the supposed distance that they had to go ere they arrived 
into the inhabitants was greater than what they had come, 
after leaving the Kennebec inhabitants. To this the return- 
ing party (being pre-determincd) would not consent, alleg- 
ing that they would either go back w^ith what provisions they 
had, or if they must go forward, they'd not impart any. 
Colonel Enos, though (he) voted for proceeding, yet had 
undoubtedly preengaged for the contrary, as every action 
demonstrated. To compel them to a just division, we were 
not in a situation, as being the weakest party. Expostula- 
tions and entreaties had hitherto been fruitless. Colonel 
Enos who more immediately commanded the division of 
returners, was called upon to give positive orders for a small 
quantity, if no more. He replied that his men were out of 
his powder, and that they had determined to keep their pos- 
sessed quantity whether they went back or forward. They 
finally concluded to spare (us) 2l^ barrels of flour, if deter- 
mined to pursue our destination, adding that we should never 
be able to bring (in) any inhabitants. Through circum- 
stances we were left the alternative of accepting their small 
pittance, and proceed, or return. The former was adopted 
with a determination to go through or die. Received it, put 
it on board our boats, quit the few tents we were in posses- 
sion of, with all other camp equipage, took each man his 
duds to his back— bid them adieu, and away— passed the 
river, passed over falls, and encamped. 

Oh, why was not Arnold of this momentous council, 
which in the midst of the wilderness, shivering in the 
driving snowstorm, decided the fate of the Expedition, 



FLOOD -FAMINE -DESERTION 83 

and left Canada to Great Britain ! Oh, for his strong 
hand, his powerful invective, his earnest persuasion! 
Who can doubt the stinging rebuke and withering 
scorn with which he would have lashed those diso- 
bedient officers, who, contrary to express commands, 
contrary to the decision of a general council of war, 
acting on their own private agreement, were ready to 
desert their comrades of the advance, and abandon 
an enterprise the failure of which would cast the 
deepest gloom over the cause in which their country 
had embarked. 

Arnold on this day, the fatal 25th of October, was 
battling with the elements on the lakes. In the midst 
of the snowstorm the wind blew a gale, the seas on the 
lakes became formidable and his bateaux had frequently 
to be run ashore and bailed. He had missed his guides 
and was not able to camp until near midnight, and then 
he did not know whether he was on the right trail or 
not. So it was that an express despatched by Greene 
telling of this serious situation, returned without find- 
ing him. How slender, and at the time how invisible, 
are the links in the chain which bind together the great 
events of history, and unite or divide an empire ! From 
the failure of this courier to reach Arnold may be 
traced Enos's defection and return, the failure of the 
Expedition, the repulse before Quebec, the retreat from 
Canada and the loss of British America to the American 
Union. 

But under date of October 24, Dead River, 30 miles 
from Chaudiere pond, Arnold had written this letter to 
Lieutenant-Colonel Enos : 



84 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

Dear /Sir:— The extrenio rains and freshets in tlie river 
have hindered our proceeding any further. When I wrote 
you last, I expected before this to have been at Chaudiere. I 
then Avrote to you that we had about twenty- five days' pro- 
visions for the whole. AVe are now reduced to twelve or 
fifteen days, and don't expect to reach the pond under four 
days. AVe have had a council of war last night, when it was 
thought best, and ordered, to send back all the sick and 
feeble with three days' provisions, and directions for you 
to furnish them until they can reach the Commissary in 
Norridgewoek ; and that on the receipt of this, you should 
proceed with as manj^ of the best men of your division as 
you can furnish with fifteen days' provisions, and that the 
remainder, whether sick or well, should be immediately sent 
back to the Commissary, to whom I \\Tote to take all possible 
care of them. I make no doubt that you will join me in this 
matter, as it may be the means of preser\dng the whole 
detachment and of executing our plan without mo\ing by 
great hazard, as fifteen days will doubtless bring us to 
Canada. I make no doubt you will make all possible ex- 
pedition. I am, dear Sir, 

Yours, 

B. Aknold. 

On the very same date, Arnold wrote to Greene 
telling him to send back the sick and feeble, to pro- 
ceed with his best men, and fifteen days' provisions, 
and adding—" Pray hurry on as fast as possible." 

Greene marched on. But Enos's division, and— 
according to Lieutenant Buekmaster's statement— 
about one hundred and fifty invalids from other divi- 
sions, turned their backs on their comrades and began 
to make the best of their way home to Cambridge. 



FLOOD -FAMINE -DESERTION 85 

The news of Enos's defection, as Captain Dear- 
born wrote in his journal, " disheartened and discour- 
aged the men very much. . . . But, being now 
almost out of provisions, we were sure to die if we 
attempted to turn back, and we could be in no worse 
situation if we proceeded on our route. Our men 
made a general prayer that Colonel Enos and all his 
men might die by the way or meet with some disaster 
equal to the cowardly, dastardly and unfriendly spirit 
they disclosed in returning back without orders in such 
a manner as they had done, and then we proceeded 
forward. ' ' 

In a similar tone. Sergeant Stocking, who was far 
in the advance with Arnold and Captain Handchett, 
wrote: " To add to our discouragement, we received 
intelligence that Colonel Enos, who was in our rear, 
had returned with three companies, and taken a large 
share of provisions and ammunition. These companies 
had constantly been in the rear, and, of course, had 
experienced much less fatigue than we had. They had 
their paths cut and cleared by us ; they only followed, 
while we led. That they, therefore, should be the first 
to turn back, excited in us much manly resentment. 
. . . Our bold though inexperienced commander dis- 
covered such firmness and zeal as inspired us with 
resolution. The hardships and fatigues he encoun- 
tered he accounted as nothing in comparison with the 
salvation of his country." So, another volunteer, ex- 
pressing the universal disgust with which the conduct 
of Enos and his captains was regarded by those who 
persevered, wrote : ' ' May shame and guilt go with him. 



86 AENOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

and wherever lie seeks a slielter, may the hand of jus- 
tice shut the door against him!" 

The court martial held in Cambridge December 1, 
1775, acquitted Lieutenant-Colonel Enos with honor, 
but did not hush the popular outcry. So persistent 
was this that in May, 1776, Enos was forced to de- 
fend his reinitation in i)rint by in-esenting an address 
to the public, containing the evidence offered to the 
court with the certification of the president. General 
John Sullivan, and a further endorsement of his gen- 
eral character and ability as an officer, signed by 
many prominent officers of the Continental army. It 
must be remembered, however, that no evidence from 
the men who suffered by Enos 's conduct was submitted 
to the court— indeed, there was no evidence obtain- 
able, at that time, from Arnold and the officers who 
advanced. The decision of the court a]3pears to have 
been based entirely on the testimony of Enos and his 
officers, who would share with him any ignominy at- 
tached to the retreat. Lieutenant-Colonel Enos, long 
mouldered into dust, cannot resume his defense, but 
is it not to be regretted that the men who marched 
forward only to starve to death or feed the wolves, 
could not have appeared before the court? Their wan 
specters could have asked Enos some troublesome 
questions. 

On what precedent did he reverse the decision of 
a council of war by the separate and subsequent vote 
of a minority ? When Captain McCobb testified before 
that court martial that it was agreed at a council of 
war that Greene's division should advance and Enos's 



FLOOD -FAMINE -DESERTION 87 

division return, did he speak the truth? When he 
and Adjutant Hyde declared that Enos's division left 
Greene's with five days' provisions, did they agree 
upon a lie? Why was no base of supplies established 
at the Twelve Mile carry, and boats with guards sta- 
tioned on the ponds of that carry, in accordance with 
Arnold's repeated orders— especially if Enos felt so 
sure that those who went forward must fail? 

But, on the other hand, had Enos ordered his di- 
vision to advance, perhaps the men of his own divi- 
sion—some of whom would undoubtedly have per- 
ished—would also have risen to haunt him, and their 
specters might have been still more numerous and 
implacable. Arnold had last written, '' proceed with 
as many of the best men as you can furnish with 
fifteen days' provisions, and send back the rest, 
whether sick or well, to the commissary." Circum- 
stances over which Enos had no control rendered the 
precise execution of this order an impossibility. Was 
he not, then, justified in using his discretion? The 
impartial reader must put himself in Enos's place and 
decide for himself whether he would have chosen the 
spirits of the soldiers in advance, or those of his own 
division, for visitants. It was an occasion which 
'' tried men's souls " more than an occasion which 
tried their judgment. 



CHAPTER VII 
ACROSS THE "TEKRIBLE CARRY" 

An eagle soaring above the forest-covered snow- 
whitened mountains of the Height of Land, the morn- 
ing after this momentous 25th day of October, might 
liave marked the relative positions of the various di- 
visions of the army: Arnold, with four bateaux and 
fifteen men, having crossed the Height of Land, was 
paddling rapidly down the Chaudiere Lake; Captain 
Handchett, with his detail of fifty men, was marching 
around the lake on its eastern shore; the rifle com- 
panies, under Morgan, were crossing the long chain 
of lakes and working their way up the tortuous gut, 
which led to the shorter chain of ponds close to the 
mountains; Meigs, with the third division, was enter- 
ing the first of the chain of lakes; the unlucky sec- 
ond division. Colonel Greene's, was moving forward 
from the camp-ground three miles beyond Ledge Falls, 
where the fatal council of war had been held; while 
Lieutenant-Colonel Enos, with his division, was begin- 
ning his retreat from the same spot. 

We are now compelled to follow each division 
separately, as their courses and adventures were very 
different. 

Certainly we do not prefer to begin by retreating, 
and our sympathetic interest in the ' ' grimacers ' ' and 

(88) 



ACROSS THE TERRIBLE CARRY 89 

' ' returners ' ' of Enos 's division now fails, but there 
remains a lingering curiosity as to their homeward 
march. 

Their progress down stream was rapid but not al- 
together smooth, for though the river was no longer 
rising, the flood had by no means subsided. Where 
before they had many bateaux, they now had few, so 
that most of the men marched by land. AVhen they 
reached their former camp-ground near Bog brook, 
they found the low country beyond overflowed. Those 
who were in the bateaux continued on the Dead River 
to the north and east of the Twelve Mile carry— pre- 
ferring this wide circuit of some forty miles to the 
task of carrying their boats across the intervening 
short portages of the Twelve Mile carrying place. Thus 
deprived of the few remaining bateaux, those on shore 
were forced to abandon any attempt to cross the three 
ponds on the Twelve Mile carry, and were compelled 
to seek the Kennebec on foot. They had not left the 
Dead River sixty rods before they were obliged to 
wade ; the water deepened as they advanced, and ' ' for 
a mile and a half was waist-deep and they were 
obliged to break the ice before them the whole way." 
For still another mile the water was over their shoes. 
But they covered the eighteen miles to the Kennebec 
in a course which stood as a string to the bow made 
by the Dead River in one day. 

The passage down the Kennebec to Norridgewock 
was easily accomplished. One party of thirty or forty 
men were obliged to return and bring up some provisions 
left on the Dead River. It must have been rough 



90 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

duty. From Norridgewock tliey descended the river 
to Brunswick, wliicli lies on the Androscoggin just 
above its junction witli tlie Kennebec, without suffer- 
ing any extreme liardsliij), and with the loss of only 
one life— that of Seabrid Fitch, of Connecticut, a 
man of Scott's com])any, who was upset and drowned 
in attempting to shoot Bumbazee rips. 

From Brunswick, Colonel Fnos hurried on the fol- 
lowing letter to General Washington: 

November 9, 1775. 
Sir:—1 am on my return from Colonel Arnold's detach- 
ment. I brought up the rear of the whole. Captain I\Ic- 
Cobbs', Williams' and Scott's companies were assigned to 
my division. We proceeded as far as 50 miles up the Dead 
River and were then obliged to return for want of provisions. 
When we arrived at the Great carrying place, by what I 
could learn of the division forward that provisions were 
likely to be short, I wrote to Colonel Arnold and desired him 
to take account of the provisions forward: he wrote me that 
there were twenty-five days' provisions for all the divisions 
ahead, but to my surprise before we got to the Great carrying 
place, Major Bigelow with ninety men were sent back from 
Colonel Greene's division to mine, for provisions. I left 
them all I could spare. I continued my march with all ex- 
pedition and when about five miles up the Dead River, over- 
took Colonel Greene's division entirely out of pro-visions, and 
by reason of men being sent back with orders from Colonel 
Arnold to me to furnish them with provisions to carry them 
to the inhabitants, my division was reduced to four days' 
provisions. Colonel Arnold was gone ahead: the chief of 
the officers of Colonel Greene's division and mine were 
together when we took the situation of the divisions into 



ACROSS THE TERRIBLE CARRY 91 

consideration, and upon the whole it was thought best for my 
whole division to return and furnish those who proceeded 
with all our provisions except three days to bring us back, 
which I did without loss of time, A more particular account 
shall be able to give when I return to Cambridge. Shall lose 
no time if able to ride. I have for many days been unwell. 
Expect the whole of my division at this place tomorrow, 
when we shall set out on our march to Cambridge. 

I am your most obedient and humble servant, 

Roger Enos. 

Yet their labors were not over— they had now to 
reach Cambridge by land, for there were no transports 
in waiting. So on they marched through North Yar- 
mouth, Old Casco Bay, Stroudwater Bridge, Scar- 
borough. It was no child's play, this long march over 
rough roads frozen hard by the raw cold of a northern 
November; the marchers worn out, ill and footsore, 
dispirited and remorseful with thoughts of their brave 
comrades, deserted and starving. On again through 
Saco, Wells and Old York into Kittery, Piscataway 
and Portsmouth. No applause along the road, but 
surprise, questioning, silence, ridicule, disgrace. No 
gala welcome at Newburyport; but the same pretty 
girls, with averted faces; fathers and mothers asking 
for sons; sweethearts for lovers, who had gone nobly 
forward. Explanations, excuses, do not avail— insults 
deepen to curses. Past their old camps at Rowley, 
Lynn and Mystic, the sorry returners hurried on and 
reached, at last, the camp at Cambridge. They were 
greeted with sneers of derision, treated with contempt 
and slunk away to hide themselves in the respective 
commands from which they were drafted. 



92 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

Arnold, parting from TIandchett's detail on the 
Height of Land carry, took his canoe and four ba- 
teaux, containing his private secretary, Oswald, Lieu- 
tenants Church, Steele, and thirteen men, and passed 
rapidly down the Seven Mile stream to the great lake 
Chaudiere. Handchett, as we know, he had ordered 
to advance along the eastern shore of the lake. That 
officer had, in marching down the Seven Mile stream, 
encountered the outlet of Lake Nepess. His party 
of fifty-five men waded two miles up to their waists in 
water, which was so cold that they soon lost all sense 
of feeling in their feet and ankles, to a piece of low, 
marshy ground. Here, about sunset on the 27th, Ar- 
nold's party luckily discovered them, and his few 
bateaux were occupied until midnight in ferrying them 
over, clear of sunken ground. From the cariying 
place they should have kept on the high ground, and 
steered a N. N. E. course. It was doubtless Hand- 
chett 's misadventure w^hich prompted Arnold to dic- 
tate the postscript of the following letter, dated this 
day, '' October 27, at the Chaudiere River," directed to 
the field officers and captains in the detachment, and 
ordered " to be sent on that the w^hole may see it. ' ' 

Gentlemen: — I have this minute arrived here and met 
my express from the French inhabitants, who, he tells me, 
are rejoiced to hear we are coming, and that they will gladly 
supply us with provisions. He says there are fcAv or no 
regulars at Quebec, which may be easily taken. I have just 
met Lieutenants Steele and Church, and am determined to 
proceed as fast as possible with four bateaux and fifteen 
men to the inhabitants and send back provisions as soon as 



ACROSS THE TERRIBLE CARRY 93 

possible. I hope to be there in three days, as my express 
tells me we can go most of the way by water. You must 
all of you keep the east side of the lake. You will find 
only one small river, until you reach the crotch, which is 
just above the inhabitants. I hope in six days from this 
time to have provisions half way up the river. Pray make 
all possible despatch. If any Companies on their arrival at 
the river have more than four or five days' provisions, let 
it be despatched to others, or left for their coming on. 
I am, Gen'l'n, your h'ble servant, 

B. Aenold. 

P. S.— The bearer, Isaac Hull, I have sent back in order 
to direct the people in coming from the Great Carrying 
Place (i. e., the Height of Land) to Chaudiere Pond. From 
the west side of the Great Carrying Place, before they come 
to the meadows, strike off to the right hand and keep about 
a north and by east course, which will escape the low, 
swampy land, and save a very great distance, and about six 
miles will bring you to the Pond. By no means keep the 
brook, which will carry you into a swamp, out of which it 
will be impossible for you to get. 

The messenger brought also verbal intelligence that 
General Schuyler, commanding the New York forces, 
had successfully engaged the regulars and Indians, 
and made a considerable number of prisoners, and 
that in three days they would meet provisions in 
their way. 

This letter, or a similar one, reached Greene's divi- 
sion, at least, as we shall learn later, but the impor- 
tant postscript failed nevertheless of its purpose, and 
so in part did the letter, for Smith's and Hendricks's 



94 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

riflemen, as well as several of the eoini)anies of mus- 
keteers of both Meigs's and Greene's divisions, fell 
into this swampy trap, and the men, elated by the 
speedy prospect of relief, consumed much more of 
their slender supply of flour than they would have 
done had they known the exact truth. 

Smitli and Hendricks's riflemen took up their line 
of march October 30, from their camp-ground on the 
banks of the Seven ]\Iile stream, near where Morgan's 
men had launched their boats after crossing the moun- 
tains, and moving in single file, for there was no path 
and the country was mountainous and much ob- 
structed, tramped six miles along the east bank of 
the river. Then they rested for the night in the 
woods. The men lay on fir boughs, without other 
covering than blankets, close together for warmth, and 
waked to find themselves under a counterpane of four 
inches of snow. But this was a more comfortable 
night than any enjoyed for some weeks, and the men 
were far from complaining. The five pints of flour 
per man, which the recent partition had given them, 
were, for convenience in carriage, baked in Indian 
fashion into cakes, under the ashes of their camp fires. 
The following day they took i\\) the line of march 
through flat and boggy ground, and at about ten 
o'clock came upon the marsh where Handchett's men 
had undergone their unfortunate experience. It was 
three-fourths of a mile over and covered by a coat 
of ice half an inch thick. Here, as the soldier Henry 
narrates in his journal, a halt was called till the 
stragglers should come up. He proceeds : 



ACROSS THE TERRIBLE CARRY 95 

There were two women attached to these companies. 
One was the wife of Sergeant Grier, of Hendricks's company, 
a large, virtuous and respectable woman. The other was 
Jemima Warner, wife of James "Warner, a private of Smith's 
company, a man Avho lagged upon every occasion. These 
women having arrived, it was presumed that all the party 
were up. We were on the point of entering the marsh when 
some one cried out, * * Warner is not here ! ' ' Another said 
he had ' ' sat down under a tree a few miles back. ' ' His 
wife begging us to wait, with tears of affection in her eyes, 
ran back to her husband. We tarried an hour. They did 
not come. Entering the pond and breaking the ice here 
and there with the butts of our guns and our feet, we 
were soon waist-deep in mud and water. As is generally 
the case with youths, it came to my mind that a better path 
might be found than that of the more elderly guide. At- 
tempting this in a trice the water, cooling my armpits, 
made me gladly return into file. Now Mrs. Grier had got 
before me. My mind was humbled, yet astonished, at the 
exertions of this good woman. Her clothes more than 
waist high, she waded before me to the firm ground. No 
one, so long as she was known to us, dared intimate a dis- 
respectful idea of her. 

Arriving at firm ground and waiting again for our com- 
panions, we then set off and, in a march of several miles, 
over a scrubby and flat plain, arrived at a river flowing 
from the east into Chaudiere Lake. This we passed in a 
bateau, which the prudence of Colonel Arnold had sta- 
tioned here for our accommodation; otherwise we must 
have swam the stream, which was wide and deep. In a 
short time we came to another river flowing from the same 
quarter, still deeper and wider than the former. Here we 
found a bateau under the superintendency of Captain Dear- 
born, in which we passed the river. We skirted the river 



96 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

to its inoiilh, tlien passed alonfj the marp:iii of the lake to 
the outlet of Chandiere, where we encamped with a hetero- 
geneous mass of the army. 

Dearborn's, Goodrich's, and "Ward's companies, 
composing Meigs's division, had, as we have seen, on 
the 27th, hauled up and a])andoned their l)ateaux on 
the east side of the Height of Land, and gone into 
camp about lialf a mile up tlie carry. Dearborn found 
here a fine birch canoe carefully laid uj), probably by 
Indians. It proved a godsend. Dearborn and Ayres 
took it on their shoulders next morning and carried 
it across the mountain " to a small stream which led 
into Chaudiere pond ; ' ' put it in and paddled down 
the stream. The other officers and men of the divi- 
sion advanced through the forests and, it would seem, 
took different routes. Meigs and those with him kept 
well to the N. N. E., and thus avoided the morass, 
but found themselves by one o'clock in the afternoon 
on the shore of a large lake (Lake Nepess), which they 
mistook to be Chaudiere pond. Accordingly they con- 
tinued their march until nightfall, when they unex- 
pectedly came upon an abandoned Indian camp. They 
took advantage of the clearing and here passed the 
night. 

The following day they crossed the water, marched 
about fifteen miles through the woods and encamped 
near the north end of Chaudiere pond. Those who 
followed Meigs were evidently men of "Ward's com- 
pany, for Captain Dearborn having reached— in his 
new-found canoe— the mouth of the Seven Mile 



ACROSS THE TERRIBLE CARRY 97 

stream, where it meets the outlet of Eush Lake and 
Lake Nepess, found both his own company and 
Captain Goodrich's, who had marched down from 
the mountain ridge, and by keeping too far to the 
west had encountered the swamp, into which they had 
preceded the riflemen, who did not reach the swamp 
until the next morning. The men were about to build 
a raft when Dearborn arrived with his canoe and 
offered to search for a ford for them. Paddling into 
the pond and around an island, he came upon Captain 
Goodrich and a few of his men, who had waded in 
that direction. Goodrich informed him that he had 
made a thorough search and there was no way to pass 
the river without boats. The land all around was 
a sunken swamp for a great distance. It was now 
growing dark, and any hope of relief from their evil 
situation that night seemed to be shut out. Captain 
Goodrich had already waded to and fro several miles 
to his armpits in water and broken ice, trying to find 
some ford by which his men might cross the river. 

But the increasing darkness served to bring into 
vision a light on shore which seemed to be about three 
miles away. Captain Dearborn took Captain Good- 
rich in his canoe and paddled across to the light. 
Here they found a good bark house with one man in 
it, who had been left by the advance party for want 
of provisions and ordered to rejoin his company. Be- 
fore the fire this man had built the few officers lay 
down for a few hours' uneasy rest; meanwhile their 
men were having the most exasperating experiences in 
the morass into which they had wandered. The freshet, 

7 



98 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

which had culminated in llie flood of October 22, 
had inundated all the lowlands on both sides of the 
mountains. The overflowed swamp at the junction of 
liush Lake, its outlet to Chaudiere pond and Arnold's 
River— shunned nowadays at all seasons by hunts- 
men—was, as Arnold had written, ''A place from 
which it was impossible to get. ' ' For hours they stum- 
bled and floundered over the slippery roots of hack- 
matack and cedar, which were concealed under an 
alluring carpet of soft green moss soaked with water 
and filled with particles of ice. Dislocation of a bone 
or a severe sprain might mean death. A broken bone 
was almost sure abandonment to starvation, for few 
were now strong enough to carry a cripple. 

The alders were high, dense and tough. The ex- 
hausted i^rovincials, bending under their arms and 
luggage, which caught them back and clogged their 
every movement, wandered in and out, knee-deep in 
icy mire, searching for a dry standing place, or sprang 
from sinking tussocks upon others which seemed more 
secure than the first, but proved constantly more de- 
ceptive. The snow which lay here and there on the 
ground, and on the frozen edges of the open water, 
only made false steps more costly. Twilight still 
found them within a short radius of their position at 
noon, after ten miles of worse than useless traveling 
in endless circles. At dark they chanced upon a little 
knoll, where they remained all night. One man who 
had fainted in the water with fatigue was supported 
thither by his comrades. 

To make their fires the men were obliged to wade 



ACROSS THE TERRIBLE CARRY 99 

into the water, chop down trees in the darlmess, and 
fetch out the dripping wood. The knoll was so cir- 
cumscribed that, as they lay down, feet to the blaze, 
the surrounding water was close to their heads. Many 
stood erect all night to keep from freezing; if it had 
rained hard it would have overflowed their refuge 
and extinguished their fire. 

Any one who has hunted in the Maine woods in 
winter knows how penetrating and biting are the 
cold, damp river mists at night; how they creep 
through the slightest opening in the blanket and 
freeze where they touch; how they gnaw through hunt- 
ing coats and heavy underclothing, and chill the shiv- 
ering hunter in the very face of his bonfire. Such 
a one can perhaps faintly imagine the sufferings of the 
poor fellows on this little hillock the night of October 
29, 1775, supperless, after days of half-rations and 
toilsome marching, thinly clad, hopelessly lost, more 
than a hundred miles from civilization. 

As soon as it was light Dearborn and Goodrich 
returned to the swamp, and, assisted by Captain 
Smith's bateaux, which luckily appeared on the scene, 
began to ferry the men across. But they had not 
marched fifty rods when they came to the second 
river, so that, as there were only two boats and nearly 
two hundred men, the rest of the day was consumed 
in making the passage. Toward sunset, under Dear- 
born's guidance, they set out for the bark house, 
where he had passed the night with Goodrich. In 
the thick woods it was easj'' to lose reckoning, and 
Dearborn's compass was defective. They went astray 



100 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

two miles, ])iit at last, iiiucli fatigued, reached the 
bark house and encamped. 

Tlie next day Ayres and Dearborn passed down 
the Chaudiere pond in their canoe, while the remain- 
der of the men marched down the east side of the 
lake, and joined them in camp at the mouth of the 
Chaudiorc Kiver. The progress of those on foot was 
very rapid, urged as they were by frantic hunger and 
the liope of meeting boats with provisions on the 
Chaudiere. Finding neither boats nor provisions, they 
hastened on ten miles, assured by the knowledge that 
if they did not leave the river they were sure to reach 
Sartigan. At a small creek they found an advertise- 
ment set uj) telling them that the longed-for boats 
were wrecked and all the flour lost. Several dogs, 
thus far faithful companions of these miserable men, 
were now turned to account, killed, boiled, eaten— 
every part, not excepting their feet, skin and entrails. 

The riflemen had now caught up with some of the 
men of Dearborn's company, and shared the dog stew 
which these men were brewing. But this, of course, 
could not go far among so many, and the poor fellows 
washed their moose-skin moccasins, scraped off the 
dirt, rinsed them in the river and boiled them, hop- 
ing, wdthout success, for a sort of mucilage soup. 
Those of the New Englanders who had any leather 
coats or shoes left, gnawed them with no better re- 
sult. 

Sergeant Stocking as he proceeded ' ' passed many 
sitting, wholly drowned in sorrow, wistfully placing 
their eyes on every one who passed by them hoping 



ACROSS THE TERRIBLE CARRY 101 

for some relief. Such pity-taking countenances he 
had never before beheld." And here comes Jemima 
"Warner, a long-neglected heroine, after twenty miles 
of walking and running to catch up, breathless, pant- 
ing, torn and disheveled, her dead husband's cartridge 
belt her girdle, and his musket in her hand. Faith- 
ful unto death, she had remained with him until he 
succumbed to hunger and exhaustion, had buried him 
with leaves, and then, at last, looked to her own safety. 
Let us now turn back for the last time and follow 
up Greene's division to the front. On the 28th of 
October, while their comrades of the advance were 
marching into the Rush Lake morass, near the outlet 
of the Seven Mile stream, this division came rapidly 
forward over the chain of lakes and the Height of 
Land by the same route as that followed by the rifle- 
men, except that most of the men kept the shores of 
the chain of lakes and went into camp on the high 
ground near the recent camp of Morgan, where they 
joined some of Meigs's division. All day they awaited 
stragglers and the rear of the division, employing the 
time in making a final partition of the remaining pro- 
visions, in order that each man might fully realize 
how small an amount he must depend upon thereafter. 
This distribution gave five pints of flour to each man 
—the pork was too small in quantity to be divided, 
as there was less than an ounce per man. The offi- 
cers in general generously forebore to take their share 
of pork. This supply must last them for six days, 
at least, and they must travel chiefly on foot in the 
forest, without a path, for about one hundred miles. 



102 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

Having no salt, they mixed tlieir tiny portions of 
flour into small cakes as the riflemen had done, and 
these they baked on the coals of their fire. Some of 
the men had, before this division of flour, found them- 
selves reduced to eating the pieces of raw moose hide 
which they had laid by to mend their shoes and moc- 
casins. These they boiled after singeing off the hair. 
For fourteen days the whole division had been on half 
allowance or worse. Dysentery or constipation had 
become chronic with many of the men, conditions due 
to starvation and peculiarly fitted to disable and dis- 
hearten til em in such traveling. There was no one to 
come after them to aid or comfort those unable to 
proceed. Tlieir situation was the most hazardous of 
any division in the detachment. In spite of every per- 
suasion and threat, several of the men this evening 
devoured the whole of their allowance of flour, deter- 
mined to have one hearty meal, even if it should prove 
to be the last. 

Toward evening, while the division still lay in 
camp, a messenger arrived from the front— from 
Arnold. As the message was read and passed from 
mouth to mouth a joyous cheer arose, and the forest 
rang with the exultations of the indomitably hopeful 
men. It was a similar letter to that entrusted to Isaac 
Hull, and was dated at the Chaudiere River, October 
27. The express was Jackquith, whom we last saw 
accompanying the Indians Eneas and Sabattis on the 
mission to the French settlements and Quebec. 
Cheered by the contents of the letter, the soldiers 
insisted on breaking camp, though it was already 



ACROSS THE TERRIBLE CARRY 103 

evening, and they were obliged by darkness to encamp 
again within a mile and a half. 

The next morning the advance was promptly be- 
gun and the division passed quickly down the Seven 
Mile stream toward Lake Chaudiere. As the column, 
or more properly file, neared its waters, the majority 
decided to go to the southeast of the stream upon the 
higher land, and so pass around the lake; however, a 
part of the force proceeded down the stream as far as 
they could, then turned southward, and took the north- 
westerly shore around the lake, while Colonel Greene, 
with most of his officers and some of the soldiers, took 
their course N. E. and by E. for the Chaudiere River. 
Deluded by an ignorant guide, the officers found their 
error before night closed in. At daylight of the 29th 
we started again, and at eleven o'clock sank into the 
fatal spruce and alder swamp between the Seven Mile 
stream and Nepess Lake, ' ' the most execrable bog mire, 
and impenetrable plexus of shrubs, imaginable. ' ' Had 
they attempted to cross, they must have come upon 
the riflemen or men of Meigs's division, but instead, 
they followed the swampy margin of Rush Lake till 
they encountered the outlet of Lake Nepess, and 
forced by the deep water to pursue a course nearly at 
right angles to their proper one, consumed the re- 
mainder of the day trying to march around this large 
lake. Entirely ignorant of its extent, expecting always 
that they were just about to round it, then disap- 
pointed, retracing their course, advancing again and 
retreating, deceived by little bays and tributary 
streamlets, they covered eighteen miles of such trav- 



104 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITIOX TO QUEBEC 

eling, only to camp in a swam]). They had been 
relying on ^[ontressor's map and on the guide, who 
was soon, amid the execrations of his followers, more 
hopelessly lost than they were. 

Next morning, having no cooking to do, and no 
tents to strike, they set forth again, still deluded as 
to the right course, and hoping at any hour to reach 
the banks of the Chaudiere River, now ever receding 
behind them to the northwest. They followed a creek 
leading into Lake Nepess, and they laid their course 
more southerly, hoping to go around it, but the creek 
gradually widened into a river four rods across and 
still unfordable, nor was it possible to build a bridge 
or raft, as nothing large enough grew upon its banks. 
At length, coming to a place where the river was 
about four feet deep, although the water was much 
frozen on both sides, they forded. So weak were 
they, so benumbed with hunger and cold, that this 
alternative was accepted only in desperation, and sev- 
eral poor wretches ' ' were left in the river, nor heard 
of afterwards." Their course was now shifted to 
"W. N, W., and only varied to escape bogs, mountains, 
small ponds, and watercourses. 

It was now the third day they had been in search 
of the Chaudiere. They were seemingly lost beyond 
redemption. Greene and Dr. Senter carried the com- 
pass by turns. Through hideous swamps, over moun- 
tainous precipices, the straggling procession of starv- 
ing men— all regard for order lost— pursued their 
enduring leaders helter-skelter; every man was now 
for himself in the fever of self-preservation. There 



ACROSS THE TERRIBLE CARRY 105 

was no time, not a moment even, to halt for the 
weak, lest the strong perish as well. There were 
bloody footprints on the snow, torn rags in the tough 
thickets and brambles. The sad moaning of the wind 
among the bare branches overhead, the plaintive 
creaking of the tall pine tops; the crunching of snow 
and rustle of dead leaves under the hurrying feet of 
his companions, alone broke the stillness of the vast 
forest solitude for him who, for a moment, fell out 
exhausted. As the last man passed him and was 
hidden by a thicket of snow-covered spruces, the 
ominous howl of a wolf would startle him to a last 
despairing exertion. 

One of this unfortunate party writes of this terrible 
march : 

The universal weakness of body that now prevailed 
over every man increased hourly on account of the total 
destitution of food; and the craggy mounds over which we 
had to pass, together with the snow and the cold pene- 
trating through our deathlike frames, made our situation 
completely wretched, and nothing but death was wanting 
to finish our sufferings. It was a dispiriting, a heart- 
rending sight, to see those men whose weakness was reduced 
to the lowest degree, struggling among the rocks and in the 
swamps, and falling over the logs. It was no uncommon 
sight, as we ascended those ruthless mountains, to see those 
coming down the mountain in our rear, falling dovni upon 
one another, in the act of mutually assisting each other. 
Whose heart would not have melted at this spectacle? It 
would have excited commiseration in the breast of a savage 
to have beheld those weak creatures, on coming to the brow 
of one of those awful hills, making a halt, as if calculating 



ion ARNOLD'S KXl'KDTTTOX TO QUEBEC 

wlictlior Ihoii' stronpili was suffieicnt for tlio dcsffnl ; at last 
he oasts his eyes to the adjacent liill, and sees his eomrades 
clambering up among the snow and rocks. lie is encour- 
aged, — he descends, — lie s1uiiil)lf's a<j;nii at some obstruction, 
and falls headlong down the precipice, his gun flying from 
him a considerable distance. His comrade staggers down 
to his assistance, and in his eagerness falls down himself; 
at length the wretches raise themselves up and go in search 
of their guns, which they find buried in the snow— they 
wade through the mire to the foot of the next steep and 
gaze up at its summit, contemplating what they must suffer 
before they reach it. They attempt it, catching at any long 
twig or shrub they can lay hold of, their feet fly from them 
— they fall doM^n to rise no more. Alas, alas, our eyes 
were too often assailed with these horrid spectacles — ray 
heart sickens at the recollection. 

Just as tlie sun, with every hope, left those who 
still kept the pace, they broi^e upon a great lake, 
which ]:>roved to be Lake Chaudiere, and ahnost at 
once, with shouts of delight, marked the trail made 
by the riflemen. They were near enough to the foot 
of the lake to reach the Chaudiere River before noon 
next day, and animated afresh by the sight of this 
stream, pressed on down the east l)ank with renewed 
vigor. Though impeded by an almost impenetrable 
growth of spruce, cedar and hemlock, and the steep 
ravines which frequently broke the high ground, they 
succeeded in overtaking some of Dearborn's men. 
Perhai:)S they too got distant scent of the savory dog- 
stew, for Dr. Senter records they were given a piece 
of the dog Dearborn's men were cooking, but that 



ACROSS THE TERRIBLE CARRY 107 

did not suffice, and they descended to shaving soap, 
pomatum and lip salve. The leather of their shoes, 
cartridge boxes, shot pouches and breeches, roots, 
bark, everything was tried from which they hoped 
nourishment could be wrung. 

We have now accounted for all those still advanc- 
ing except the riflemen of Morgan's own company. 
Their story is short: Descending the Seven Mile 
stream and crossing the Chaudiere Lake in the boats 
they had so laboriously brought across the mountains, 
they entered the Chaudiere River and began the haz- 
ardous descent. Bateau after bateau was wrecked 
and abandoned, and they had not advanced fifteen 
miles before the whole company were forced to 
land and continue on foot. The crew of one of 
the first bateaux lost were moving down the edge 
of the river and so discovered a fall of twenty feet 
in time to return and signal their comrades in the 
bateaux which followed them, else many more of 
those afloat must inevitably have perished. They 
reached shore with the loss of only one man, George 
Innes, a waiter in Morgan's company. Morgan and 
Burr narrowly escaped. Both Smith and Morgan lost 
their military chests, spare clothing, blankets and 
ammunition, and the latter a considerable sum of 
money. 

But while the gallant remnants of the expedition 
were thus struggling forward in the desperate race 
against utter exhaustion and starvation, where was 
their leader— he who was to have led them proudly on 
to an easy victory and to the open gates of Quebec? 



CHAPTER VIII 
ARNOLD SAVES THE KEMNANT OF HIS AR^MY 

Arnold, with liis small escort, without a guide, 
their baggage lashed to their boats, started down the 
swollen flood of the Chaudiere early on the morning 
of the 28tli, to obtain provisions for his famishing 
army. For the first seven miles the river was a broad 
sheet of black water, perhaps a hundred yards in 
width, owing to the recent freshet, moving swiftly 
through a vast tract of overflowed forest. Vistas of 
barkless trees, long dead and whitened, continued 
ever-present on either side, unrelieved even by the 
moss which, in a more southern climate, would have 
hung in festoons from tree to tree. No sign of ani- 
mal life was visible except those hermits of the 
swamp, the herons and mud-hens, which every now 
and then rose lazily from some stump or half-im- 
mersed drift and flapped slowly on before them, to 
alight within a short distance, then rise again and 
slowly disappear over the trees. 

This dreary region passed, the water became 
rougher and the stream was confined by more definite 
banks; the trees were no longer dead, but, with the 
exception of the evergreens, stripped of their foliage. 
They soon shot across some sharp rips, and, within a 
mile or two, the distant sound of the rush of rapids 

(108) 



ARNOLD SAVES THE REMNANT 109 

reached them; presently they were fighting their way 
over a half mile of water lashed to fury by hidden 
ledges, divided by fallen trees and cut into sharp- 
toothed waves by keen-edged boulders, between which 
the river curled and darted with powerful suction. 
Faster and faster, too fast to dip a paddle or plunge 
a pole, they sped on, till after many a narrow escape 
their boat shot into a long, wide eddy, where, around 
a small island, the water became smooth for a few 
moments. Then, as they rounded a curve of the 
river, the current caught them again and carried them 
into other rapids. And so they kept on, reckless of 
their own safety, their thoughts on the army of men 
behind them whose lives hung on their reaching the 
French settlements before it was too late. Twenty 
miles were passed in two hours, and no accident had 
happened. All that day they wrestled with the rocks 
and angry river, and there was no end to the rapids. 
Now and then an eddy gave them a moment's respite, 
but they never found more than a few rods of open 
water for another thirty miles. They used their poles 
and paddles where they could, but it was seldom, and 
they were borne on the greater part of the day at the 
mercy of the current. 

At last the momentum of the pent-up water be- 
came so violent, as the height of the banks increased, 
that they flew forward in a mass of foam; the waves 
sprang up and curled in over the bows and sides of 
their frail craft and threatened every moment to 
swamp them. They were as helpless as the drift 
which swept along beside them. The rocks and 



110 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

boulders ahead seemed larger and more fearful; the 
banks were become ])reci|)itous and covered to the 
very edge with dense forests. They seemed to be 
entering a rocky gorge. Suddenly they plunged over 
a fall, and every boat and canoe, as in turn it was 
sucked into the vortex, was overturned. Some of 
the men saved themselves by clinging to the boats, 
or were washed upon the rocks below. Six of them 
found themselves swimming in a huge, rock-bound 
basin, where the river paused in its mad rush, and 
stood silent in a dark and fathomless pool before it 
darted around a precipitous bank and fell, thundering, 
thirty feet over jagged shelves of broken ledges. 
These are known to-day as the Falls of Sault. The 
rapids they passed early in the morning are called 
the Devil's Eapids. 

They swam ashore, thankful to have escaped more 
certain death by their misfortune; gathered what they 
could of their baggage from the rocks where it had 
lodged, and here spent the night. Only two of the 
bateaux and Arnold's periagua were saved from the 
general wreck, and the periagua was so badly dam- 
aged that it had to be adandoned. 

Their last day before reaching Sartigan was not 
less dangerous. So swift was the current that the 
party were obliged to land and lower the boats down 
stream by their painters. Several long portages, 
more difficult than any on the Dead River, had to be 
crossed. Luckily two Penobscot Indians who met 
them rendered great assistance, and told them of the 
first house a short distance below the Du Loup. 



ARNOLD SAVES THE REMNANT 111 

Arnold therefore pushed on, undaunted by freezing 
cold and flying snow, and so rapidly did he cover the 
last forty miles to Sartigan, half by water, half by 
land, that by the evening of October 30— two days 
after leaving Lake Chaudiere— he was purchasing 
supplies and arranging for forwarding them early next 
morning, with the following carefully worded letter 
directed to the ^' Officers of the Detachment." 

• Saetigan, Oct. 31st, 1775. 

Gentlemen:—! now send forward for the use of the de- 
tachment, 5 bbls. and 2 tierces and 500 lbs. of flour by 
Lieut. Church, Mr. (Barin) and 8 Frenchmen, and shall 
immediately forward on more, as far as the falls. Those 
who have provisions to reach the falls will let this pass on 
to the rear; and those who want will take as sparingly as 
possible, that the whole will meet with relief. The inhab- 
itants received us kindly, and appear friendly in ofl^ering 
us provisions, etc. Pray make all possible dispatch, 

I am, Gent., yours, etc., 

B. Arnold. 

This reckless descent of the Chaudiere by Arnold 
and his scouts to save the shattered army should for- 
ever put at rest Burr's carping complaint that the 
commander was not always ready to share the perils 
and privations of his men on this expedition. Next 
day he sent a messenger with a letter to friends in 
Quebec, in which he notified them of his approach, 
inquired the strength of the garrison, and mentioned 
his apprehension that his Indian messengers had 
betrayed him, as some had returned and brought no 
answer. The letter was in substance a repetition of 



112 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

tliat to ^Messrs. ]\raiiiei-, Gregory and Maynard, already 
referred to. 

Meanwliile, tlie army, reduced to the utmost straits, 
was hurriug forward with all the speed which in the 
enfeebled condition of the men was possible. A very 
few bateaux had been somehow gotten over the carry 
at the Height of Land, and floated across Chaudiere 
l)ond, but in so leaky and unsafe a condition that it 
soon appeared they would be useless in the rapid 
and boisterous current of the river. One which be- 
longed to Hendricks's company of riflemen was carried 
further than the others, in order that Lieutenant Mc- 
Clelland, who was dying of pneumonia, might not be 
left behind to perish alone in the wilderness. This 
young officer had been borne across the mountains 
on a litter, Caj^tain Hendricks himself being one of 
the bearers. Just above the Falls of Sault the ba- 
teau in which he lay was carried into the rapids and 
saved only by its fortunate lodgment upon a large 
rock. The crew bore their helpless officer to the 
shore with great danger and difficulty. 

As poor McClelland, dying, lay beside the fire his 
men had built for him, men of Smith's company of 
riflemen passed him on their way down the river. 
To some of them, his friends, he bade " farewell." 
Lieutenant Simpson and other fellow officers divided 
with him the last of their dearly treasured |)ittance 
of food, and parted from him with great distress and 
tenderness, for Henry says of him: " He was en- 
dowed with all those qualities which win the affection 
of men. Open, brave, sincere and a lover of truth." 



ARNOLD SAVES THE REMNANT 113 

He had marched nine hundred miles from his south- 
ern home on the sunny Juniata to die for his coun- 
try, obscurely, on the rock-strewn shore of the bleak 
Chaudiere. Dr. Senter came up, also, and with the 
few instruments which he carried in his knapsack 
tried the Sagradoine method to relieve the sufferer. 
Two privates were left to minister to him, and later 
two Indian boys from Sartigan, nephews of Natanis, 
stimulated by handsome rewards from Smith and 
Simpson, made their way up the river with a canoe, 
and brought the invalid to the first house in Sarti- 
gan, where he soon after expired, and was buried 
by his two attendants, who then rejoined the army. 

On the 31st, some of the eastern men and rifle- 
men, who led, made twenty-one miles— a terrific 
march for men in such condition in a pathless wil- 
derness, now covered with snow and ice. The cold, 
the snow and the frozen ground had driven into their 
winter retreats those small animals and birds whose 
l^resence might have served to sustain life. The 
larger animals, doubtless fully apprised of the ap- 
proach of the head of the column by the unusual 
noises attending the advance of so many men, had 
disappeared, and could be found only by systematic 
hunting, out of the line of march. There was neither 
time nor strength for such pursuit. The experience 
of Steele's scouts, if proof was needed, had shown 
that moose meat alone (deer, it would seem, were 
not plenty) was not sufficient to more than postpone 
starvation, and even then must be consumed fre- 
quently and in large quantities. Still one man saved 



114 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

his life — thanks to a sedee, a small wood Ijiid, and 
a sqiiinc'l ; aiiothor \vas hu-ky enough to shoot a i»ar- 
t ridge. 

The soldier Morison, a volunteer in Hendricks's 
company, thus describes the march in his journal: 

Nov. 1. — Our deplorable situation reduced us to the 
sad necessity of every man to shift for himself. We had all 
alonsjT aided our weaker brethren, but the dreadful moment had 
now arrived when these friendly offices could be no Ioniser 
performed. Many of the men began to fall behind, and 
those in any condition to march were scarcely able to sup- 
port themselves; so that it was impossible for us to bring 
them along, and if we tarried with them we must all have 
perished. It was, therefore, given out this morning by our 
officers for every man to shift for himself, and save his own 
life, if possible. This measure opened upon us a scene of 
the bitterest sorrow. When we moved off from before them, 
how did the unhappy companions of all our toils and suffer- 
ings strive with all their might to keep up with us, and to 
tread in our footsteps, calling out to us as well as their 
feeble voices would allow : ' * Will you leave us to perish in 
this wilderness?" Never will that heart-piercing interroga- 
tor}^ forsake my memory. Some of those wdio Avere advan- 
cing turned back, and declared that they would prefer death 
to leaving them ; others stopped their ears and moved off 
with all the expedition in their power. ... As we 
advanced, we saw with bitterest anguish their weak attempts 
to follow, but a mountain closed the scene between us and 
many of them forever. 

With heavy laden hearts we marched on over a succes- 
sion of hills and mountains enough to outdo the sturdiest 
traveller. On the way, passed by many of the musketmen 



ARNOLD SAVES THE REMNANT 115 

in the most deplorable condition, nearly exhausted, and ex- 
posed to the rigours of the season. We found some of 
them eating a dog, which they had roasted entire, not hav- 
ing had anything to eat for two, some three, days before. 
I saw one of them offer a dollar for a bit of cake not 
weighing more than two ounces, which was refused. This 
day we forced a march of twenty miles and encamped, our 
strength so reduced that but a few of us were able to raise 
a fire. Our spirits were so depressed by the occurrences of 
the day that death would have been a welcome messenger 
to have ended our woes. 

Nov. 2. — This morning when we arose to resume our 
march, many of us were so weak as to be unable to stand 
without support of our guns. I, myself, whom Providence 
had endowed with an uncommon degree of strength, stag- 
gered about like a drunken man. We had eaten no food 
for several days. However, we got on our packs and set 
out through the woods, hoping to see some inhabitants. 
But we stumbled on over hill and swamp, mile after mile, 
without any visible prospect of relief. This day I roasted 
my shot pouch and eat it. It was now four days since I 
had eaten anything, save the skin of a squirrel I had picked 
up in a tent some time before, and had accidentally put into 
my pocket. A number resorted to the same expedient; 
and in a short time there was not a shot pouch to be seen 
among all those within my view. This was the last resort, 
and approaching destruction appeared to be the only me- 
dium through which we could pass from our present calam- 
ities. Hope was now extinguished and its place supplied 
\vith a deep insensibility, which is often, in desperate cases, 
the precursor of some extraordinary change. Before and 
behind us and on every side of us we could discover noth- 
ing but a wide waste, unadorned with the smoke of any 



IIG ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

habitation. 'JluM-e was nothing in all the gloomy scenery 
that surrounded us to interest the feelings for a moment, 
or cast a gleam of pleasure upon the dejected soul. All 
was silence. Every object tended to dismay the heart, 
already too much oppressed. The light that shone upon it 
served but to render its dreary aspect more visible. There 
was nothing magnificent to awake our benighted imagina- 
tions, only at times when we gained the summit of a huge 
mountain we could discover the Chaudiere veering its course 
through these lofty hills, whose frowning brows seemed to 
threaten its meanderings with a final stoppage, whilst it 
endeavoured, as it were, to escape the impending ruin. 

The Indian girl Jacataqua, whom we first met at 
Fort Western, still followed the army with some of 
her Indian relations, for she was familiar with this 
countiy, and was very willing to give her aid as 
guide. She and lier dog were now constantly hunt- 
ing for any sort of meat for the starving soldiery; 
and, skilful with herbs and roots, she became indis- 
pensable to the sick. Allien, therefore. Dearborn's 
dogs and those of other soldiers were sacrificed, hers 
escaped, for had sentiment not protected him her 
announced intention to leave the army should the 
dog be slaughtered was a sure safeguard. 

By this time, the 2d of November, the army was 
scattered along the east bank of the Chaudiere, in 
companies and squads, for a distance of some forty 
miles, tracing their way with ever-failing strengtli 
through the deer paths along the water's edge, over 
rocky headlands, and through treacherous bogs and 
endless thickets. All their bateaux, cam}) equipage 



AENOLD SAVES THE REMNANT 117 

and provisions were gone, except here and there a 
tin camp-kettle or an ax. Some, owing to their ship- 
wrecks, were even unarmed and without head cover- 
ing; many were barefoot, their clothing torn by snags 
and briers, while those who had tried to make food 
of their leather breeches or coats were in even sadder 
plight. Up and down the line, helpless in the woods, 
were nearly one hundred invalids, unable to proceed 
further. Where the bed of the river, from which its 
waters had been diverted, offered some relief in open 
walking from the constant struggle through the dense 
thickets and up and down the step ravines along its 
banks, the men availed themselves of the change, if 
not relief, which it otfered. Coming to a long, sandy 
beach, some of the men of Smith's company darted 
from the single file in which they marched, and with 
their nails tore out of the sand-beach roots which 
were eatable and ate them raw. Few knew the indi- 
cations which pointed to the presence of these roots, 
but as one man sprang from the line half a dozen 
followed, and as he seized the prize fought for its 
possession. 

Once, "a mountain, jutting in a most precipitate 
form into the river, compelled them to pass the mar- 
gin of the stream upon a long log, which had been 
brought thither by some former freshet. The bark 
and limbs of the tree had been worn away by the 
rubbing of the ice, and the trunk lay lengthwise 
along the narrow passage, and, smooth and slippery, 
gorged the pass. This difficulty collected a hetero- 
geneous mass of the troops, who claimed the right of 



118 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

passage, according to tlic order of coming to it. The 
log was to be footed, or tiio water of tlie depth of 
three or four feet must be M^aded. There was no 
alternative. An eastern man, bare-footed, bare- 
headed, and thinly clad, lean and wretched from 
abstinence, with his musket in his hand, essayed to 
pass on the log. His foot sli])ped and he fell several 
feet into the water. Even his immediate friends and 
comrades, many of whom were on the log at the same 
moment, did not deign to lend him an assisting hand. 
Death stared them in the face. They passed on re- 
gardless of his fate." Verily it was " saiive qui 
2)eut." 

But they had not proceeded four miles next day 
before they met Arnold's relief party of French Ca- 
nadians, some afoot and some on horseback, with 
sacks of flour thrown across their horses, driving up 
the shore oxen and other cattle. ' ' We with one ac- 
cord lifted up our hands and eyes to heaven, and 
blessed that gracious God for this great deliverance," 
writes Henry. ' ' Provisions in sight ! " " Provisions in 
sight!" resounded from hill to hill. The fight was 
over— they had won. Throwing down their arms, 
they sprang forward like a pack of famished wolves, 
struck down one of the beasts in his tracks, and ' ' had 
its hide and flesh on the fire boiling before the crea- 
ture was dead. ' ' 

The generous Canadians, excited by every fresh 
evidence of sutTering, having sui)i)lied the immediate 
needs of these men, sprang upon their horses again, 
and taking with them such sustenance as was porta- 



ARNOLD SAVES THE REMNANT 119 

ble, hurried on to the assistance of those in the rear, 
shouting encouragement as they reached the top of 
every hill. Some of them returned late in the even- 
ing with the bodies of half-frozen and insensible 
provincials, slung in place of their flour-sacks across 
their horses. They had found them prone upon the 
earth half covered with snow and mire, their vitality 
unappreciable except by a fluttering pulse or strug- 
gling heart-beat. Others of these good Samaritans 
pushed on to rescue those who were still further be- 
hind, and returned next morning with a number of 
those who, it was thought, must inevitably have per- 
ished. That night, as those who had already escaped 
from this Valley of Death tended their campfires and 
feasted, and moved like gaunt and hollow-eyed spec- 
ters between the deep shadows of the forests and the 
flaming firelight, they reminded one another so forci- 
bly of the imagined ghosts of their poor comrades, 
perforce deserted, that their joy in their deliverance 
could find no exalted expression. Many a man, 
though sleeping the sleep of extreme exhaustion, must 
have started and cried aloud as in his dreams he saw 
again the sights of the past few days, and seemed to 
hear once more the heartrending entreaties of the 
sick and helpless. 

The following day, the 4th of November, they 
arrived at the Du Loup, a large stream flowing into 
the Chaudiere from the east. The weather was raw 
and cold and the water icy. But they dashed through 
this river up to their arm-pits, and ran on for a few 
hundred yards to greet with three huzzas the first 



120 AlvNuLD'8 EXPEDITIUN TO QUEBEC 

house in Canada— the first house they liad seen for 
thirty days. 

Captain Dearborn, Lieutenant Hutchins, Ensign 
Tliomas and fifty men of Dearborn's company, with 
Captain Smith's company, were the first to arrive at 
the house on the Du Loujo. The following day they 
moved down the river six miles to Sartigan, a settle- 
ment largely Indian, where they found Arnold, who, 
assisted by Steele and John M. Taylor, of Smith's 
company, who happened to be an excellent penman 
and accountant, now named commissary, had been 
rapidly and successfully accumulating provisions 
against the approach of the famislied army. There 
were but three or four small houses, built by half- 
breeds or French Canadians, in Sartigan, and the 
Indians lived in wig^wams, so that few of the soldiers 
could be received in the shelter of civilization, and 
many, left out in the cold, built bough huts and large 
fires to protect themselves. A severe snowstorm made 
these hastily constructed abodes very uncomfortable, 
but the men who had been snatched out of the very 
jaws of death were in no mood to complain of mere 
discomforts. 

Every day stragglers, with terrible tales of priva- 
tion and suffering, made their way across the Riviere 
du Loup and came into camp. One of them, Bur- 
deen by name, a private in Topham's company, who 
was supposed to have starved to death, related how 
he and a comrade, named Hart, both sick, kept to- 
gether for some time after crossing the Height of 
Land. After wandering for several days Hart sue- 



ARNOLD SAVES THE REMNANT 121 

Climbed to a violent cramp, which had long tortured 
him. Burdeen and five other riflemen who had joined 
them left the unfortunate man dead. Shortly after 
they came upon another corpse, a victim of hunger 
and sickness, one of Captain Hendrick's company. 
As they still advanced they were astonished to find a 
stray horse, which had providentially run away from 
the Frenchmen who brought out the provisions. The 
party shot it and ate heartily of the flesh for three or 
four days while they rested. Seven or eight more 
sick men came up, and the horse flesh saved their 
lives as well. For seven days previous these men had 
no sort of nourishment but roots and black birch bark, 
which they boiled and drank. Burdeen reported that 
he had seen twelve dead bodies along the road over 
which he had come. 



CHAPTER IX 
DESCENDING THE CHAUDIERE 

On Saturday, November 4, the Abenaki savages, 
among tliem the dreaded Natanis and his brother 
Sabattis, in gorgeous finery, assembled at Colonel 
Arnold's headquarters, about five miles below Sar- 
tigan, and demanded through an interpreter the in- 
tention of the Americans in coming among them in 
hostile manner, pretending they were unacquainted 
with those intentions. Among them, also, was 
Eneas, who with Sabattis had been despatched ex- 
press from Norridgewock with letters to Quebec. 
After an oration delivered with much pomp and cir- 
cumstance by one of the chiefs, surrounded by his 
followers, Arnold returned the following diplomatic, 
though not strictly ingenuous and truthful, reply: 

Friends and Brethren:—! feel myself very happy in 
meeting with so many of my brethren from the different 
quarters of the great coiuitry, and more so as I find we 
meet as friends, and that we are equally concerned in this 
expedition. Brethren, we are the children of those people, 
who have now taken up the hatchet against us. INIore than 
one hundred years ago we were all as one family. We 
then differed in our religion and came over to this country 
by consent of the King. Our fathers bought lands of the 
savages and have become a great people,— even as the stars 

(122) 



DESCENDING THE CHAUDIERE 123 

in the sky. "We have planted the ground and by our labor 
grown rich. Now a King and his wicked great men want 
to take our lands and money without our consent. This 
we think unjust and all our great men from the River 
St. Lawrence to the Mississippi, met together at Phila- 
delphia, where they all talked together, and sent a prayer 
to the King, that they would be brothers and fight for 
Mm, but would not give up their lands and money. The 
King would not hear our prayer, but sent a great army to 
Boston, and endeavored to set our brethren against us in 
Canada. The King's army at Boston came out into the 
fields and houses, and killed a great many women and 
children, while they were peaceably at work. The Bos- 
tonians sent to their brethren in the country, and they came 
in unto their relief, and in six days raised an army of fifty 
thousand men and drove the King's troops on board their 
ships, and killed and wounded fifteen hundred of their men. 
Since that they durst not come out of Boston. Now we 
hear that the French and Indians in Canada have sent to 
us, that the King's troops oppress them and make them pay 
a great price for their rum, etc., and press them to take up 
arms against the Bostonians, their brethren, who have done 
them no hurt. By the desire of the French and Indians, 
our brethren, we have come to their assistance with an intent 
to drive out the King's soldiers; when drove off we will 
return to our own country, and leave this to the peaceable 
enjoyment of its proper inhabitants. Now if the Indians, 
our brethren, will join us, we will be very much obliged 
to them, and will give them one Portuguese per month, 
two dollars bounty, and find them their provisions, and 
their liberty to choose their own officers. 

Arnold's speech to the chiefs had the desired 
effect and about forty of the Indians took their canoes 



124 ARNOLD'S EXrEDITION TO QUEBEC 

and joiued the force moving down tlie river. The 
Indians were (luick to find a name for Arnold and 
called him the "'Dark Eagle," suggested, perhaps, by 
the cast of his features and his keen and penetrating 
eye. Natanis at the first interview had, according to 
tradition, addressed him thus: 

' * Tlie Dark Eagle comes to claim the wilderness. 
The wilderness will yield to the Dark Eagle, but the 
Rock will defy him. The Dark Eagle will soar aloft 
to the sun. Nations will behold him and sound his 
praises. Yet when he soars highest his fall is most 
certain. When his wings brush the sky then the 
arrow will pierce his heart." A baleful prophecy 
which, delivered with the characteristic impressive- 
ness of the Indian orator, must somewhat have dashed 
the spirits of the young officer. 

November 5, Arnold despatched expresses up the 
river to hurry on the stragglers and scattered parties. 
An exi^ress reached him with news that Mr. Eob- 
bisho, an express sent to Montgomery from Sartigan, 
was taken prisoner. This threw the people into a 
panic, as they heard that the English were deter- 
mined to burn and destroy all the inhabitants in the 
vicinity of Quebec, unless they came and took up 
arms in defense of the garrison. The poor, innocent 
French-Canadian habitants in the lower Chaudiere 
valley scarcely knew which way to turn; from the St. 
Lawrence came such reports of the rigorous treat- 
ment they might expect from the English, while from 
the upper Chaudiere spread the first rumors of the 
arrival and of the character of the mvsterious Ameri- 



DESCENDING THE CIIAUDIERE 125 

can army, " vetu en tole (toile) " (clothed in mail), an 
allusion to the canvas frocks of the riflemen. This ru- 
mor lost no credit by what seemed, even to the hardy 
French voyageurs, a feat only to be accomplished by 
men of a race endowed with superhuman powers of 
strength and endurance— the passage of an army 
through the solitary and unbroken wilderness of the 
Chaudiere streams and Dead River ! ' ' Surely, ' ' said 
they, ' ' God is with this people, or they could never 
have done what they have done. ' ' 

Thus impressed, the Canadians received the way- 
worn soldiers with kindness, and saw to it that their 
wants were well supplied, though they were not averse 
to receiving fair pay for their provisions. One diarist 
pithily remarks, ' * the people are civil, but mighty 
extravagant with what they have to sell." The mani- 
festo written at Cambridge, and now freely distributed, 
was reassuring, and there was much fraternal spirit 
shown on both sides. The march of the army through 
that peaceful, sleepy valley was long referred to as 
an epoch — '' the coming of les hons Bostonnais." 

Many of the emaciated soldiers, voracious, insa- 
tiable, utterly regardless of the threats and entreaties 
of their officers, gorged themselves with the unlimited 
food provided, and several in consequence, after having 
fought and conquered starvation, fell victims to fevers 
caused by repletion, and died within a few days after 
reaching Sartigan. Among those who narrowly es- 
caped death by such folly was, as he himself tells 
us, young Henry, whose journal we have frequently 
quoted. In his extremity he was found by Arnold him- 



126 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

self, wlio gave liiin in ('liar<j^e of a friendly Canadian, 
whose care and ticalnient saved the youni; man's life. 

The lower valley of the Chaudiere is a flat and fer- 
tile country; then sprinkled at long intervals with 
strae:c:ling clusters of low houses, all whitewashed 
and for the most part thatched. Every now and then 
a chapel came in sight, but more frequently rude 
roadside crucifixes or images of the Virgin, strange 
sights to the orthodox New England soldiery and the 
Scotch Presbyterians of Pennsylvania. The river 
ceased to curl madly over rock and shingle, and, 
though still white with foam, became quieter and 
broader as the advancing troops left league after 
league behind them. After leaving Sartigan and 
passing the St. Francis rapids, boats when they could 
be obtained, were used. 

Arnold and some of his officers reached St. Marie 
the 5th of November, and were entertained hand- 
somely by Messire Gabriel Eleazar Taschereau, a seig- 
neur of the old regime, whose domain included large 
tracts of farming land in that vicinity. At St. Marie 
Arnold received by an Indian messenger the first news 
he had had from General Montgomery since the expedi- 
tion left Cambridge six weeks before. The news, more- 
over, was good, for it told of the successful advance 
of Montgomery's forces into Canada and the capture 
of Chambly, tidings which mightily raised the spirits 
of the young commander on the Chaudiere, who had 
of late found so much reason for anxiety and depres- 
sion. A letter was at once despatched in reply, of 
which this is the substance : 



DESCENDING THE CHAUDIERE 127 

Dear Sir:— Your favor of the 29th ult. I received at 1 
o'clock this morning, which gave me much pleasure. 1 
heartily congratulate you on your success thus far. I think 
you had great reason to be apprehensive for me, the time 
I mentioned to Gen'l Washington being so long since 
elapsed. I was not then apprised or even apprehensive of 
one-half of the difficulties we had to encounter; of which 
I cannot at present give you a particular detail — can only 
say we have hauled our bateaux over falls, up rapid streams, 
over carrying places, and marched through morasses, thick 
woods, and over mountains, about 320 miles, many of which 
we had to pass several times to bring our baggage. These 
difficulties the soldiers have, with the greatest fortitude, 
surmounted. About two-thirds of the detachment are, 
happily, arrived here and within two days' march, most of 
them in good health and high spirits. The other part, with 
Col. Enos, returned from the Dead River, contrary to my 
expectation, he having orders to send back only the sick 
and those that could not be furnished with provisions. I 
wrote Gen. Schuyler, the 13th of October, by an Indian I 
thought trusty, enclosed to my friend in Quebec; and as I 
have had no answer from either, and he pretends being 
taken at Quebec, I make no doubt he has betrayed his 
trust, which I am confirmed in, as I find they have been 
some time apprised of our coming in Quebec, and have de- 
stroyed all the canoes at Point Levi, to prevent our pass- 
ing. This difficulty will be obviated by birch canoes, as 
we have about twenty of them with forty savages, who have 
joined us, and profess great friendship, as well as the Ca- 
nadians, by whom we have been very friendly received, and 
who will be able to furnish us with a number of canoes. 

I am informed by the French, that there are two frig- 
ates and several small armed vessels lying before Quebec, 
and a large ship or two lately arrived from Boston. How- 



128 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

ever, I propose crossing the St. Lawrence as soon as pos- 
sible; and if no opportunity offers of attackin;,' Quebec 
with success, shall endeavor to join your army at ^Montreal. 

1 shall as often as in my ])()wer advise you of my proceed- 
ings, and beg the favor of liearing from you by every op- 
portunity. 

I am, dear Sir, very respectfully. 
Your most ob'd't, humble servant, 

B. Arnold. 

P. S.— Since writing the above, I have seen a friend 
from Quebec, who informs me a frigate of 26 guns and 

2 transports ^ith 150 recruits arrived from St. John's, 
Newfoundland, last Sunday, which with the inhabitants, 
who have been compelled to take up arms, amount to about 
300 men; that the French and English inhabitants in gen- 
eral are on our side, and that the city is short of provi- 
sions. I shall endeavor to cut off their communication 
with the country, and make no doubt, if no more recruits 
arrive, to bring them to terms soon, or at least keep them 
in close quarters until your arrival here, which I shall wait 
with impatience. 

Montgomery had reached the Isle-aux-Noix on the 
10th of September— that is to say, before Arnold 
had left Cambridge. His army then consisted of 
about fourteen hundred men. These were reinforced 
by Colonel Livingston's company of New Yorkers, 170 
Green Mountain boys under Colonel Seth Warner, 
Captain Allen's company of the same corps raised 
in Connecticut, about one hundred men of Colonel 
Bedell's from New Hampshire, and a company of 
artillery under Captain Lamb. Montgomery's whole 
force did not exceed eighteen hundred men. Nearly 



DESCENDING THE CHAUDIERE 129 

eight hundred of these up to September 26, by reason 
of smallpox, camp disorders, and swamp fever, con- 
tracted in the low, marshy encampment at Irle-aux- 
Noix, were found unjSt for duty and discharged. 

On the 3d of November St. John's was taken by 
this army, after a short resistance, and Montgomery 
without loss of time pushed on for Montreal. 

As he advanced, a few hundred Canadian rebels, 
under Lieutenant-Colonel James Livingston, formerly 
of Montreal, aided by Colonel Easton and Major John 
Brown, whom Montgomery had detailed for the duty, 
executed a flank movement, primarily directed against 
the British post, old Fort Pontchatrain, at Chambly, 
which they easily took. They pressed on from thence 
towards Sorel, where it was known that an energetic 
and enterprising Scot, one Lieutenant-Colonel Allen 
McLean, of the garrison of Quebec, was making great 
exertions to recruit a regiment from the families of 
those Highlanders who, after the Peace, had emigrated 
and settled in Canada, and from native Canadians of 
British descent. 

When Arnold replied to Montgomery's letter he 
naturally could think of no more trusty couriers, none 
more familiar with the route they would have to 
traverse, than the very Indians who had brought the 
welcome news of American success. He accordingly 
sent them back to Montgomery, with his letter to 
him of November 8 from St. Marie and its enclosure 
to General Washington. But one of these Indians, 
an Indian of Lorette, who happened to be the actual 
bearer of the despatches, meeting with some of 



i:]0 AKXOI.D'S EXrEDITION TO QUP:BEC 

^[('Lean's men on their return journey, and not 
unreasonably mistaking them for friends, was con- 
ducted to Colonel IMcLean, to whom he delivered 
the letters. He and his companion were promptly 
secured. 

No doubt Carleton, though probably already ad- 
vised of Arnold's presence on the Dead Kiver, by a 
courier from Lieutenant-Governor Cramahe, was has- 
tened in his decision to abandon Montreal to Mont- 
gomery by a second courier, conveying the valual)le 
information thus gained by jMcLean. That ofiScer's 
own determination not to await Easton at Sorel but 
to hasten to reinforce threatened (Quebec, was beyond 
question the result of the unfortunate miscarriage of 
Arnold's correspondence, and his jjresence within the 
city was, as we shall see, a matter of the gravest 
importance when the provincials at length appeared 
before its walls. 

From St. Marie Arnold's army had still thirty 
miles to travel before reaching Point Levi— opposite 
Quebec on the St. Lawrence. Morning orders on the 
6th were simple,— " every captain to get his company 
on as fast as possible." Not so much as a minute 
could now be wasted with safety, if they were to 
reach Quebec before it was reinforced. The wretched 
roads were mire and snow to the bellies of the horses, 
which some of the officers had hired from the peas- 
ants and rode bareback, or with sacking and rope, 
for want of saddles. It snowed heavily, but the men's 
stomachs were full, their limbs refreshed and spirits 
animated by four days of rest and the kindly hospi- 



DESCENDING THE CHAUDIERE 131 

tality of the Canadians, and they covered eighteen 
miles on the 7th, in spite of these difficulties. 

Captain Thayer was sent back to Sartigan to su- 
perintend the conveyance of the sick, but next day at 
St. Marie met Major Meigs, who had anticipated this 
duty, with ninety-six invalids. Meigs had purchased 
twenty canoes on his way up and down the river. A 
succession of rapids made the navigation of the river 
difficult and perilous, so with four men under each 
canoe, these invalids lugged their craft from St. 
Marie, twelve miles, along the river bank without 
meeting a house; then, leaving the river and follow- 
ing the main body eastward, they again entered the 
forest, through which they made the best of their way 
over a swampy road, without seeing another house 
for fifteen miles, till they reached St. Henri, and con- 
tinued on from thence to Point Levi, a total carry of 
thirty miles. 

Snow had been falling or had lain on the ground 
ever since the 22d of October, and the severe Canadian 
winter had begun. The head of the column overtook 
Colonel Arnold and an advance party on the 6th; on 
the 7th they passed the night within nine miles of 
Quebec, and on the 8th— now advancing more cau- 
tiously—halted within three miles of the St. Lawrence. 
Here Arnold left them again, and, with a lieutenant 
and twenty men, went forward to reconnoiter Point 
Levi, which he reached about two o'clock" in the 
morning. From the bank of the St. Lawrence, 
reached at last, he promptly despatched a letter to 
General Washington, informing him of his safe arrival 



132 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

before Quebec and giving substantially the same account 
of his movements and his prospects as was contained 
in the letter to General jNIontgomery quoted above. 

All night the troops lay upon their arms awaiting 
orders, but on the moraing of the 9th, which dawned 
thick and cloudy, word that the coast was clear came 
back from Arnold. The whole army now advanced to 
Point Levi, a promontory on the St. Lawrence, about 
four miles east of the Falls of the Chaudiere, which 
tumble headlong a distance of nearly one hundred and 
thirty-five feet into the great river below. Guards 
were immediately i30sted along the St. Lawrence, and 
as fast as troops came up they were assigned to quar- 
ters in farmhouses scattered along the riverside for a 
distance of a mile or more. By the 13th all the sur- 
vivors except a few, who, like Captain Dearborn and 
Henry, were too ill to be moved from hospitable 
shelters found by the waysi'de, had come up. 

When the men were paraded, their appearance 
was both pitiful and ridiculous. With their lean 
forms, half clad in torn and disheveled clothing, and 
haggard faces unshorn for many weeks, many bare- 
footed and bare-headed, they made a soriy spectacle. 
Stocking says he thinks they ' ' resembled those animals 
of New Spain called ourang-outaugs," and that the 
French peasantry, had they not been in a measure 
prepared by Arnold, would have fled from their habi- 
tations at the sight of such savages emerging from 
the forests. ' ' Unlike the children of Israel, ' whose 
clothes waxed not old ' in the wilderness, theirs hardly 
held together." 



DESCENDING THE CHAUDIERE 133 

A letter written from this locality by one of its in- 
habitants tells us of the sensations created there by 
the arrival of this ragged regiment. ' ' There are about 
fifteen hundred provincials arrived at Point Levi, 
opposite the town, by the way of the Chaudiere across 
the woods. Surely a miracle must have been wrought 
in their favor. It is an undertaking above the com- 
mon race of men in this debauched age. They have 
traveled through woods and bogs and over precipices 
for the space of one hundred and twenty miles, at- 
tended with every inconceivable difficulty, to be sur- 
mounted only by men of indefatigable zeal and in- 
dustry. ' ' 

No official return seems to have been attempted, 
but the number of men estimated fit for duty at Point 
Levi was about five hundred, while the invalids and 
non-combatants were about one hundred. This would 
seem not to include Natanis and his Indians. 

The number of those who perished in the terrible 
march from the head of Dead River to the French 
settlements at Sartigan is nowhere estimated with 
official authority, and the estimates of various survi- 
vors vary considerably. Morison, who uses figures 
with more exactness than most of the diarists, sets 
down the effectives at Point Levi at 510, and adds 
that seventy or eighty had died in the wilderness. 
This statement is probably not far from the truth. 
The names of only a few of these poor fellows are 
recorded; among them we know were Buck of Scott's 
company, George Innis of Morgan's company, John 
Taylor and Lieutenant McClelland of Hendricks's 



134 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITTOX TO QUEBEC 

company, James Warnor and Michael Warner of 
Smith's company, and Onley Hart. 

Tlie Iviver St. Lawrence, from a mill then standing 
about a mile to the west of Point Levi to King's 
wharf, Quebec, was eleven or twelve hundred yards 
wide. The mill was the property of Major Henry 
Caldwell, of Quebec, and the Americans made a 
lucky seizure there of some flour and two hundred 
bushels of wheat. The person w^hom they found in 
charge joined them and became a commissary. The 
British frigate Lizard, of twenty-eight guns, which 
had just arrived, bringing a few marines and a timely 
supply of £20,000 in cash, and the Hunter, a sloop 
of war, were riding at anchor in the stream, while a 
number of merchant vessels were clustered in the 
harbor of Quebec. Every boat and canoe which 
could be reached on the south shore of the river 
had been wisely destroyed by the British, who had 
timely notice by the interception of the letters in- 
trusted to Eneas and Sabattis, of the approach of the 
Americans. 

Beyond the river the beautiful city of Quebec, 
hemmed in by her lofty precipices and impregnable 
battlements like some prisoner-princess of old fairy 
tales, smiled down upon the little ragged, famine- 
l)roof army, which had so bravely dared the north 
wind and forest wilderness for her sake, while to 
dishearten and ensnare the ignorant, the Americans 
read, posted on the chapel door at Point Levi, the 
following proclamation : 



DESCENDING THE CHAUDIERE 135 

Conditions to be given to such soldiers as shall engage 
in the Royal Highland Emigrants. They are to engage dur- 
ing the present troubles in America only. Each soldier is 
to have 200 acres of land in any province in North America 
he shall think proper. The King to pay the patent fee, 
secretary's fee, and surveyor-general, besides twenty years' 
free of quit rent. Each married man gets fifty acres for his 
wife, fifty for each child, on the same terms, and as a gra- 
tuity besides the above great terms, one guinea levy money. 

Allen McLean, 
Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant. 

During the 11th and 12th, boats and canoes were 
purchased and collected with the greatest possible 
expedition. But as they had to be brought from a 
great distance, it was the 13th before thirty-five, in- 
cluding dugouts, counting those carried down the 
Chaudiere by Meigs, were procured. There were other 
equally important preparations to be made. A detail 
of carpenters under Lieutenant Savage was told off to 
make scaling ladders, hooks and spears; a detail 
of smiths under Captain Handchett was marched four- 
teen miles to the nearest forge, for the same work, 
kept busy all night and marched back next day. The 
rank and file of the army were employed in over- 
hauling their flintlocks and such accoutrements as 
they had saved, and in making shoes out of raw-hides. 
Not a moment was wasted. The provincials were 
forced to keep under cover, however, for the Hunter 
and the Lizard dropped shot and shell among them 
whenever they showed themselves in any number 
along the river bank. 



136 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

A council of officers was held to decide whether 
to hazard an assault at once, should they succeed in 
crossing the river, or wait reinforcements from Mont- 
gomery. That they should make the attempt to pass 
the river seems to have been accei)ted as a matter of 
course, in spite of its wide stretch of black water 
and strong tides, in spite of the two vessels of war 
and armed merchantmen linked together by a chain 
of nightly patrol boats, passing and repassing be- 
tween the vessels every hour. Against the judgment 
of Arnold and most of the Ehode Island officers, the 
decision of the council was against an immediate 
assault, it is said by a majority of a single voice. 

November 11th, a hurried report came to head- 
quarters that the British w^ere landing at the mill. 
Each man grasped his anns. Morgan and the In- 
dians, who were nearest headquarters, were foremost. 
Pellmell, Indians and riflemen intermingled, they 
rushed for the point of attack. Eeaching the brow 
of a precipice, though still under its cover, they per- 
ceived a boat, which came from the sloop Hunter, 
about to touch the shore. The boat grounded; a 
midsliii^man sprang out, but, to obtain a better land- 
ing as the tide was at the ebb, ordered the boat off 
into deeper water. The riflemen fired a volley at the 
boat's crew, who, leaving the middy to his fate, pulled 
out of range. The unlucky youngster plunged into 
the river, hoping to regain the boat, and a shooting 
match began at his head, which afforded a fair mark 
above the water, at about one hundred and fifty yards, 
as he swam towards the boat. Bullets splashed about 



DESCENDING THE CHAUDIERE 137 

him, pierced his clothing, and one slightly wounded 
him. The swimmer turned towards shore again with 
evident intent to surrender, but Sabattis, scalping 
knife in hand, sprang forward, seemingly intent upon 
killing the lad. Luckily Morgan was more athletic 
than the savage and, spurred by a decent humanity, 
intercepted him. The Hunter, meantime, having now 
warped up toward the shore for the purpose, opened 
with ball and grape on the riflemen, who hastened 
back along the shore with their prisoner and reached 
headquarters without accident. The midshipman was 
only about fifteen years of age, a brother of Captain 
McKenzie of the frigate Pearl, a lively, active, face- 
tious youngster, who at once won the good will and 
esteem of his captors by his refusal to give them any 
desired information militating against the British. 
The boat had been sent ashore to recover Caldwell's 
flour at the mill. 

Arnold now wrote again to Montgomery and Wash- 
ington, his letters from Sartigan and St. Marie hav- 
ing, as we know, owing to the capture of his messen- 
gers, failed to reach their respective destinations. 
These letters were sent by way of Sorel, for Arnold 
was now apprised that a detachment from Montgom- 
ery's army had occupied that town at the confluence 
of the Kichelieu and the St. Lawrence. 

The officer commanding at Sorel was Colonel 
James Easton, who, with Major Brown, had advanced 
without opposition to that place, for Lieutenant-Colo- 
nel Allen McLean had retreated before him, aban- 
doned the post, and with one hundred men of his new 



138 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

regiment, called the Koyal h^niigrants, and about sixty 
Fusileers, chiefly recruits, embarked for Quebec, 
where he arrived on the 12th, And on the same day 
Colonel Guy Johnson, Su])erintendent of Indian Af- 
fairs, sailed from Quebec foi- England in the ship 
Adamant, conveying official dis])atches which con- 
tained the latest information from the field, a number 
of Canadian rebel prisoners and young Pitt, for whom 
General Washington in his directions to Arnold had 
expressed so much solicitude. 

Once more, before bringing to an end this portion 
of the narrative and proceeding to the account of 
the operations against (i)uebec, it may be well to 
review briefly the causes which led to the failure of 
the expedition to reach the city as early as it had 
expected, and the consequent impossibility^ of surpris- 
ing the citadel and capturing it without a blow, as 
Washington and Arnold had fondly hoped to do. 

Attention should be directed first of all to the 
complete failure of Arnold's plans and dispositions 
for the march through the wilderness. His intention 
had been to advance his base of supplies to the 
Twelve Mile carrying place; to have ferries across 
the ponds there, and to save every abandoned bateau 
on the Kennebec for use' in case he was forced to 
retreat. The assumption to which we are forced is 
that these arrangements failed of execution because 
of inefficiency in the commissary department, or Enos's 
neglect of duty, though there certainly were many 
extenuating circumstances. 

On account of the blockade and devastation of 



DESCENDING THE CHAUDIERE 139 

the ports of Maine by warships from the British 
fleet at Boston, the consequent interruption to the 
markets and sources of supplies to the south, and 
the extreme severity of this winter, the people in 
the settlements on the lower Kennebec were reduced 
to such distress and starvation as we sometimes hear 
of nowadays prevailing in Labrador and Newfound- 
land. Some families had no bread in their houses 
for three months together, and people who lived even 
at a distance of twenty miles from the seacoast were 
forced to retreat to the shore, where they could glean 
a precarious sustenance from the clam banks on the 
coast. It was impossible to procure grain, potatoes 
or any other species of vegetable. Meat, butter and 
milk were equally scarce. Neither tea, sugar nor 
molasses were to be purchased on any terms. Boiled 
ale-wives, a little coffee and clams formed the scanty 
diet with which they tried to satisfy their hunger. 

But while these circumstances would account for 
failure to supply the carrying place with extra pro- 
visions, they do not excuse the failure to supply it 
with the one hundred barrels of flour which Arnold 
assumed the army had left in storage with James 
Howard at Fort Western. It is evident from Ar- 
nold's letters that under Mifflin at Cambridge, the 
commissary-general, Colonel Farnsworth, was directly 
responsible. I have been able to find nothing con- 
cerning this officer in all my search, beyond the men- 
tion of his name in Arnold's letters. 

Again, it should be borne in mind that it was Ar- 
nold's intention that the Chaudiere pond should be a 



140 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

general rendezvous, for there he expected to meet 
dcfiiute advices from Canada, and to continue to ad- 
vance or retreat according to circumstances of the 
situation. Entirely unprepared for Enos's defection, 
and urged by the famine which threatened his army, 
he changed his mind and pushed on with all s])eed 
for the French settlements. In this he was justified; 
he had received on the Height of Land favorable re- 
ports; provisions had become of the first importance. 
Unforeseen delays had occurred; there was no time 
to spare for a general rendezvous; speed, and a gen- 
eral movement forward, would alone rescue the army. 
Had he failed to send back provisions when he did, 
the event has proved that his loss in the woods would 
have been so heavy and demoralizing as to wreck the 
expedition utterly. Unfortunately, his orders to I]uos 
to continue the advance were not sufficiently explicit; 
therein he was much at fault, but his error did not 
contribute as a first cause to the comparative miscar- 
riage of the expedition. 

Had it not been for the extraordinary freshet, 
which no man could foresee, the failure of supplies 
would not have occurred to an alarming extent; there 
is every probability that Enos would not have turned 
back; Arnold would not have felt it necessary to 
forge so far ahead of his people, and the whole de- 
tachment would have arrived at Point Levi in time 
to have entered Quebec with little or no opposition. 
Instead of the adverse criticism to which the concep- 
tion and execution of this enterprise have always been 
subjected, and which has discouraged any deep in- 



DESCENDING THE CHAUDIERE 141 

terest in its details, it would have come down to us 
as one of the most glorious coups of the war, and 
established the reputation of Washington and Arnold, 
as masters of strategy and military science. 

Obviously the equipment of the detachment as well 
as its composition is open to just criticism. It seems 
unquestionable that if no bateaux had been trans- 
ported and the men had advanced with packs on their 
backs, they would have made safer and speedier prog- 
ress. Rafts could have been built rapidly on the 
shores of many of the ponds by an advance party, 
and used to ferry the troops across as fast as they 
arrived, while a large enough amount of ammunition 
to have answered every purpose could have been 
thus transported. Tents and cumbersome camp equi- 
page could have been dispensed with even at that 
season. 

It is difficult to understand why Washington, who 
is known to have spent in his younger days many 
days and nights in the backwoods of Virginia, should 
have made this mistake. It should not be forgotten, 
however, that he was compelled to consider policy 
and harmonize the conflicting interests of the various 
colonies. The expedition was one which promised 
honors and advancement, and he could not select the 
officers and men who were to compose the detach- 
ment, strictly from the point of view of expediency, 
without arousing much jealousy and discontent. Had 
he selected backwoodsmen and riflemen, those best 
fitted for the undertaking, he would have been com- 
pelled to draw chiefly from the southern colonies, for 



142 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

there were few such coini)anies from New England. 
The decision with regard to the bateaux was prob- 
ably due to ignorance of the waterways and the 
topography of the country. This conclusion is sup- 
ported by the statement which Arnold makes in one 
of his letters : ' ' We have been deceived in every 
account of our route. ' ' 

However, an examination of Montressor's map, 
which was followed by the expedition, does not en- 
tirely support this statement. It was the freshet 
which foiled Arnold, rather than defective informa- 
tion. That he and the six hundred men who fol- 
lowed him to the St. Lawrence accomplished what 
they did in the face of such difficulties and discour- 
agements, is matter for wonder and admiration rather 
than for criticism and detraction. Washington, whose 
commendation was always a badge of honor, who 
was too experienced a frontiersman and too good a 
soldier to underestimate such an achievement, wrote 
to General Schuyler when he heard of Arnold's arrival 
before Quebec: 

"The merit of this gentleman is certainly great, 
and I heartily wish that fortune may distinguish him 
as one of her favorites. I am convinced that he will 
do everything that his prudence and valor shall sug- 
gest to add to the success of our arms, and for 
reducing Quebec to our possession." To Arnold him- 
self he wrote under the same date : "It is not in 
the power of any man to command success, but you 
have done more— vou have deserved it." 



CHAPTER X 
BEFOEE QUEBEC 

At three o'clock on the afternoon of the 13th, an- 
other council of officers was held, and it was resolved 
to attempt to cross the St. Lawrence that night and 
to make a landing at Wolfe's Cove. The evening 
was calm and cold, and the moon would not rise till 
the early hours of morning. The troops, numbering 
some five or six hundred, were drawn up in the cove 
of the Chaudiere, under cover of the mill, where 
their canoes and dugouts of pine logs had been 
collected. Men accustomed to steal upon the wary 
deer and keen-scented moose did not need to muffle 
their paddles, and indeed it was not necessary to 
take great precautions against noise, for even had 
they not been several miles from the ships-of-war, 
the thunder of the Falls of the Chaudiere would have 
silenced here anything less than a cannon shot, but 
when they should near Wolfe's Cove every precaution 
must be taken. The distance to be traversed was 
great, because at an angle, probably a mile and a 
half or two miles, but the tide, being on the ebb, 
would assist them. 

The first canoes left the shore about nine o'clock. 
They were seven in number, one of them filled with 
savages. The pilot boat carried Arnold, Thayer, 

(143) 



144 AKXOLD'S EXPKDITIuX T(3 QUEBEC 

To})liani, Dr. Senter, and two otliors. Oeiilly, silently, 
l)iit swiftly, their paddles dii)i)ed and turned in the 
smooth waters of the dark river. Every nerve was 
quivering with excitement; every eye on the alert, 
])eering into the darkness. Canoe after canoe was 
(juietly lifted from the bank and touched the water 
without a splash, almost without a rii)ple. Like an 
army of shades or spirits, they embarked and glided 
away into the darkness. More than an hour was 
passed in suspense by those still waiting on shore. 
Then out of the darkness a darker object took form 
and the prow of a canoe, paddled by a single occu- 
l)ant, grounded on the shore. It was quickly swung 
about by ready hands and filled with eager soldiers. 
Two or three times the same canoes went and returned. 

One of the canoes, steered by Lieutenant Steele, 
overloaded to the water's edge with men, baggage 
and arms, burst apart in midstream. The occupants, 
except the Lieutenant, were picked up by the near- 
est canoes. But all were now so crowded that they 
did not permit the reception of another man, so that 
Steele could not be taken in. Wheeler, who steered 
one of the canoes, made Steele throw his arms over 
the stem; and then, to keep them warm and ena- 
ble Steele to maintain his hold, sat upon them and 
towed the Lieutenant ashore, chilled to the bone and 
exhausted. Nothing was lost except a few guns and 
clothes. By three o'clock, when the moon began 
to rise, five hundred men had crossed; only a few 
more than one hundred were still to be transported. 

Where, all this time, were the Hunter and the 



BEFORE QUEBEC 145 

Lizard? There was no breeze, and they were swing- 
ing sleepily at anchor. And the boat patrol? One 
of them, a barge from the Hunter, was heard by 
those already on the northern shore rowing towards 
them in the darkness— easily to be distinguished from 
a canoe by the sound of the oars grating in the 
thole-pins. It rapidly approached. Discovery seemed 
unavoidable. Arnold, realizing the value of the first 
blow, hailed. The ship's boat came to. He gave 
the order to fire. The volley shook the echoes of 
the banks, and the guard-boat, ''with screaming 
and dismal lamentations," backed and rowed away. 
But the alarm was given, and the moon was soon 
well above the horizon. It was,, therefore, impossible 
for the rest of the detachment to cross that night. 
Part of the men left behind came over a few days 
later, though a permanent guard of sixty was main- 
tained at Point Levi. 

There was then a good road cut aslant the preci- 
pice which Wolfe had scaled with such difficulty in 
1759— just sixteen years before. The Americans had 
expected to find sentinels of the enemy posted along 
this road and perhaps a guard to dispute their land- 
ing at the Cove. There was none, however. A re- 
connoitering party was made up from the first troops 
landed, and, led by Morgan, it ascended to the Plains 
of Abraham and disappeared in the direction of the 
city. It had been necessary to make allowance for 
the great tides which, with an easterly wind, rise 
from nineteen to twenty-two feet, and with a west- 
erly wind from sixteen to nineteen. The strong ebb 

10 



146 ARNOLD'S EXPP^DTTION TO QUEBEC 

tide had much scattered the canoes, and they reached 
the shore at different points from the Cove to SiUeiy. 
As fast as the men came up they followed Morgan's 
party up the pathway, lint when they reached the 
plains they were immediately formed and paraded. 
Details were counted off and guards mounted. 

The morning air was sharp, the wind northwest 
and uncommonly penetrating, and the men paced to 
and fro swinging their arms and trying to keep warm. 
Everything in the direction of Quebec was so still 
that they could hear the cries of the sentries on the 
walls. Very soon IMorgan's party returned and re- 
l^orted that everything was quiet in the neighborhood 
of the city. The troops now took up their march for 
*' Sans Bruit," the residence of Major Henry Caldwell, 
formerly that of General James Murray, a large man- 
sion with outhouses near the St. Charles River, which 
had the character of a manor-house and its depend- 
encies. It was a mile and a half or two miles from 
Wolfe's Cove, and about the same distance from 
Quebec. The place was stealthily surrounded and 
Caldwell's servants surprised as they were loading 
teams for the city. One of them was taken prisoner. 

The mansion house became headquarters, and the 
rank and file were comfortably quartered in adjacent 
buildings. The men proceeded at once to appropriate 
and butcher some of the stock with which the place 
was plentifully supplied. They secured twenty work- 
ing bullocks, four or five fat ones, and all of Cald- 
well's horses. Additional provisions were secured 
from several teams which were stoi^ped by guards 



BEFORE QUEBEC 147 

posted on the roads leading into the city, and brought 
into camp. Thus plentifully supplied, the men made 
a hearty breakfast, and those not detailed for guard 
duty threw themselves down upon the furniture or the 
floors of the buildings to which they had been assigned 
and were soon sleeping heavily. 

It was reported among the soldiers, and the story 
has been repeated by historians, that all that night 
St. John's gate, one of the principal entrances through 
the city wall, had stood open guarded only by one 
drowsy sentinel. But if such a golden opportunity to 
surprise the citadel was lost— which seems at least 
doubtful— it must be accounted for by Arnold's anxiety 
to get his entire command across the river during the 
hours of darkness, and the delay of any concerted 
forward movement until that important object was 
safely accomplished. Morgan's party does not appear 
to have discovered that the gate was so inadequately 
guarded, and Arnold was certainly ignorant of the 
fact— if fact it was. 

Arnold now dispatched the following letter to 
Montgomery : 

CoLViL (sic) Place, 2 miles from Quebec, 14 Nov., 1775. 

Dear Sir: — I wrote you yesterday from Point Levi, by an 
express sent from Sorel by Colonel Easton, of my intention 
of crossing the St. Lawrence, which I happily effected between 
9 and 4 in the morning without being discovered, until 
my party of 500 men were nearly all over, Avhen a frigate's 
barge coming up, discovered our landing and prevented our 
surprising the town. We fired into her and killed three 
men. I am this minute informed by a gentleman from 



148 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

t(nvn, llial Coloiu'l IMcLciui had determined to pay us a 
visit tills inoruiii^^ with GOO men and some field-pieces. We 
are prepared and anxious to see him. Others from town 
inform me that llie inhabitants in general have laid down 
their arms. By the best information they are in the great- 
est confusion; very short of wood and provisions, much 
divided, and refused provisions fi-om the inhabitants; and 
if blocked up by a superior force, must, as soon as the frost 
sets in, surrender. I have thought proper to despatch the 
bearer to inform you of my situation, as also with a request 
I have to make. I must I'efer you to him for particulars, 
as I have been so unfortunate in my former letters, I don't 
choose to commit every intelligence to WTiting. It is the 
current report here that you have invested IMontreal and 
cut off their retreat. This, I hope, is true, and that I shall 
soon have the pleasure of seeing you here. 

I am, dear Sir, with great respect. 

Your obed't. humble servant, 

B. Akxoi.d. 

General Montgomery. 

P. S.— Since writing the foregoing, the enemy found 
means to make prisoner of one of our out sentinels. I im- 
mediately invested the town as nearly as possible with my 
troops, which has occasioned them to set fire to the suburbs 
of St. Johns, and several of the houses without the wall are 
now in flames. 

George Merchant, of Smith's company, was the 
unlucky sentinel captured; he had been stationed in 
a thicket where he had the disadvantage of seeing 
little and being seen from higher ground. A daring 
sergeant of the 7tli regiment of tlie King's troops, 



BEFORE QUEBEC 149 

with a few followers, noting his exposed position, for 
which he was less to blame than the officer of the 
guard, glided through the suburb of St. John under 
cover of the houses, and then, concealed by a thicket, 
crept stealthily within a few feet of Merchant and, 
springing suddenly upon him, disarmed him before 
he could discharge his piece. But this was not done 
without giving an alarm, and the Englishmen and 
their captive were hotly pursued to the shelter of 
the guns of the city. 

The excitement incident to the capture of Mer- 
chant and the pursuit of his captors gave rise to the 
report that the enemy were sallying. The drummers 
beat the assembly; the troops hurriedly formed and 
marched towards the city. Coming within 800 yards 
or so of the fortifications they halted, and looking 
up at the walls, crowded with soldiers and citizens, 
cheered lustily, while their enemies as loudly shouted 
their defiance. For some time this foolishness con- 
tinued, while the little force, lacking unfortunately 
miraculous trumpets to demolish their Jericho, passed 
in review before their half-friendly and half-hostile 
audience. Then the English brought to bear a thirty- 
six pounder, and though they hurt no one, and some 
of the Americans in derision chased and picked up 
the spent balls, as they had at Boston, they has- 
tened the performance. The provincials soon marched 
back whence they came, but not before Adjutant 
Febiger had advanced within a hundred paces of 
the walls and coolly examined the state of their 
repair. 



150 AKXOT>D'S EXm^DTTTOX TO QT'KP.EC 

Some biased historians have carelessly claimed 
tliat Arnold liaving been known in Quebec as a 
hiiiiible dealer in horses— a "horse jockey," as his 
enemies called him— wished to display before the 
citizens of Quebec his newly-gained power and im- 
])ortance; but Arnold was no such vain fool. He 
])robably had one of two objects in view. He may 
have wished, by the smallness of his force, to excite 
the contempt of Ijieutenant-Governor Cramahe, who 
commanded the garrison during Governor Carleton's 
absence in Montreal, and so to induce him, as Wolfe 
did Montcalm, to seek an easy victory in the open 
])lain, which would have enabled Arnold's friends to 
encourage an uprising in his rear— perhaps even to 
shut the gates of the city ujwn the regulars and loyal- 
ists. This view is borne out by Arnold's letter to 
Captain Handchett, sent the very next day, and also a 
letter sent to a friend at Montreal, dated November 
25, from Point aux Trembles. Or else, as we are 
told by one diarist, the troo]:)s were marched past 
several times so as to give the impression of greater 
strength than they really possessed. This would have 
tended to encourage the sympathizers within the walls 
and to mislead Cramahe into a prudential inactivity 
which would secure the safety of Arnold's command 
till those of his men still on the opposite bank of the 
St. Lawrence could cross, or till the expected junction 
with Montgomery could be effected. 

Arnold now sent young Ogden with a flag and the 
following summons to Lieutenant-Governor Cramahe: 



BEFORE QUEBEC 151 

Camp befoee Quebec, 14 Nov., 1775. 

Sir: — The unjust, cruel and tyrannical acts of a venal 
British Parliament, tending to enslave the American Colo- 
nies, have obliged them to appeal to God and the sword for 
redress. That Being in whose hands are all human events, 
has hitherto smiled on their virtuous efforts. And as every 
artifice has been used to make the innocent Canadians in- 
struments of their cruelty by instigating them against the 
Colonies, and oppressing them on their refusing to enforce 
every oppressive mandate, the American Congress, induced 
by motives of humanity, have at their request sent Gen. 
Schuyler into Canada for their relief. To cooperate with 
him, I am ordered by His Excellency, Gen. Washington, 
to take possession of the town of Quebec. I do, therefore, 
in the name of the United Colonies, demand surrender of 
the town, fortifications, etc., of Quebec to the forces of the 
United Colonies under my command; forbidding you to 
injure any of the inhabitants of the town in their person 
or property, as you will answer the same at your peril. 
On surrendering the town the property of every individual 
shall be secured to him; but if I am obliged to carry the 
town by storm, you may expect every severity practiced on 
such occasions; and the merchants who may now save their 
property, will probably be involved in the general ruin. 
I am, Sir, your most ob't. h'ble servant, 

B. Arnoi^d. 
To Hon. Hect. T. Cramahe, 
Lt.-Gov. of Quebec. 

But this threatening missive never reached the 
man to whom it was addressed, for as the flag ap- 
proached the walls, it was fired upon and the bearer 
was forced to retire. 



152 AKNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

\Vhen it was known that Arnold with his army 
liad reached Point Levi tliere was, as might have 
been expected, great excitement within Quebec. 
Cramahe w^as thoroughly frightened, and had very 
little hope of making any defense. Owing to the 
cal)als of the disaffected, that is to say, of the ene- 
mies of the govermnent, there was great danger that 
the city would be given up without even a show of 
resistance. In the nick of time, the troops from 
Newfoundland, referred to in Arnold's letters to Mont- 
gomery, arrived, and when McLean with his Emi- 
grants entered the town, the ])resence and encourage- 
ment of this hardy and able Scotch officer restored a 
state of equilibrium, though it was still one which 
might at any moment be unsettled to the advantage 
of the rebels. Martial law had long since been pro- 
claimed by Carleton, and McLean did not hesitate to 
take advantage of it. One Williams, a rebel partisan, 
who was haranguing a crowd of doubtful spirits, he 
caused to be ousted from the place of meeting, and 
the assemblage was then forcibly dispersed. 

Immediately after McLean's arrival a council of 
war was held, whereat the fresh vigor and courage 
with which he had inspired the slender garrison was 
in great evidence. It was determined to lay the war 
ships by the wharves and keep them in the harbor 
all winter if necessary, in order that their crews 
might reinforce the garrison. The defenses were 
instantly to be put in such repair as the time would 
allow; all British inhabitants and all seafaring people 
then in the city were forbidden to leave it, and a 



BEFORE QUEBEC 153 

bounty of three pounds sterling was offered to any 
who would volunteer in the King's service. A roster 
of the entire available force, regulars, militia, sailors 
and loyal inhabitants, made for this council, disclosed 
a total of 1,248 men, not all of whom could be counted 
on for hard fighting. The supply of arms and am- 
munition was not exactly inadequate, though the 
defenders would have been glad if it had been larger. 
Provisions, in spite of Arnold's information to the 
contrary, were in sufficient quantity to enable the 
city to stand a prolonged siege if system and economy 
were observed in their distribution. 

Before proceeding further in the narrative of the 
operations before Quebec, it will aid the reader to a 
clearer understanding of what is to come if the situ- 
ation of the city and its famous defenses, natural and 
artificial, be briefly described. A ridge of high land 
extending from Cape Rouge on the northern bank of 
the St. Lawrence about eight miles along the shore, 
terminates at the eastern extremity in a rocky and 
very high hill, which rises to the west of the beau- 
tiful basin formed by the confluence of the River St. 
Charles with the St. Lawrence. There stands Quebec. 
The citadel, in 1775, occupied about forty acres, and 
towered with independent defenses on the crest of 
this rocky hill nearly three hundred and fifty feet 
above the river. Exclusive of the works on the cita- 
del there were continuous fortifications all around 
that portion of the city, some two hundred feet be- 
low the citadel, which is termed the Upper Town. 
They consisted of bastions connected by lofty cur- 



154 ARNOLD'S EXl'EDTTTDX TO QUEBEC 

tains of solid masonry and ram|)arts from twenty-five 
to thirty feet in height and twenty feet thick. Round 
towers, loopholed casemates and massive gates re- 
curred at certain distances in this great wall. 

As the American officers from the Plains of Abra- 
ham gazed upwards upon this Gibraltar of America, 
they noted that the city wall began with a lofty bas- 
tion on tlie summit of a steep, rocky promontory, the 
foot of which might have been washed by a high tide 
of the St, Lawrence, but was now separated from the 
river by a narrow cart-road, which ran so close to 
the water that vessels were often moored to iron 
staples driven in the rocky bank which formed one 
side of the road. This cart-road was the sole en- 
trance on the west to the Lower Town, and the road 
and cluster of houses here were known collectively 
as Pres de Ville. The steep promontory of rock, be- 
cause of the sparkle of quartz crystals in the black 
lime slate of its shaggy flank, was called Cape Dia- 
mond. It presented, towards the west and south, a 
sheer escarpment of over three hundred feet. The 
bastion which surmounted it bore the same name. 
From Cape Diamond bastion the wall ran toward the 
interior, inclining to the northeast for about eighteen 
or nineteen hundred yards, its height vaiying to meet 
the natural elevations or depressions of the ground, 
and separating the suburbs St. Louis and St. John 
and the suburb St. Eoque, which covered the low- 
land between the suburb St. John and the St. Charles 
River from the Upper Town; then, making a sharp 
angle by turning to the right, it was broken by a 



BEFORE QUEBEC 155 

gateway, known as Palace gate, with an adjacent 
guard-house. 

Between Cape Diamond bastion and Palace gate 
there were four other bastions; the nearest to Cape 
Diamond was called La Glaciere. The other three 
bastions, St. Louis, St. Ursula, and Potasse, flanked 
the gateways of St. Louis and St. John, the former 
admitting the road from Three Rivers to the Upper 
Town and the latter the road from St. Foy. The 
suburbs St. John and St. Roque were populous be- 
fore the siege, and for that reason the English later 
found it necessary to sally from time to time to burn 
houses, in order to obtain a clear range for their 
cannon directed against the American batteries on 
the Plains of Abraham and in St. Roque. 

From Palace gate the fortifications continued along 
the brow of a high cliff overlooking the St. Charles 
for a distance of three hundred yards until they 
reached a point where Hope gate was subsequently 
built. Then commenced a gradual elevation of the 
ground, which served as a continuation of the great 
wall, completed the circle of artificial and natural 
defenses around the Upper Town, and terminated at 
the eastern point of Cape Diamond. The circuit of 
the fortifications which enclosed the Upper Town was 
two and three-quarter miles. Beyond the location of 
Hope gate the wall continued until it reached a per- 
pendicular cliff called the Sault au Matelot, between 
the foot of which and the water was a narrow street, 
taking its name, ' ' Sault au Matelot, ' ' from the cliff, as 
did also that quarter of the Lower Town immediately 



150 ARNOT.D'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

adjacent. This street formed the only ai)|)roach to 
the Lower Town from the east. 

The dwellings and warehouses in the Lower Town, 
crowded together in the space between Sault au ]\Iat- 
elot and Pres de Ville, clung like barnacles to the 
foundation rock which supported the Upper Town 
and citadel. The scant soil upon which some of the 
houses of the Lower Town were built had not ])een 
left exposed by the river's receding from its channel, 
but was merely the drift and accumulated deposit 
lodged at tlie base of the mountain of rock by the 
current and occasional freshets. The streets were 
narrow, steep and tortuous, and always wet, or slip- 
pery with ice. One of the broadest, but steepest, 
j\Iountain street, led from near the center of the 
Lower Town through a narrow, strongly-picketed 
passage to the Upper Town. This was properly the 
only way of passing directly from the Lower Town to 
the Upper Town and the citadel. Accordingly, this 
steep passageway and Mountain street were so forti- 
fied that they fairly bristled with cannon from inter- 
secting barriers and parallel battlements, ready to 
receive any enemy on his front and both flanks with 
a raking fire. The entrance itself was approached at 
the last moment by a declivity which brought any 
attacking force directly under a row of palisades, 
from the shelter of which the garrison could crush 
them en masse with hea\^^ stones and timbers hurled 
from above. It would be about as easy for a camel 
to pass through the eye of a needle as for an Amer- 
ican soldier to i)ass safely through the jaws of the 
British Lion into the Upper Town. 



BEFORE QUEBEC 157 

On the landward side, that is to say to the south 
and southwest, the great wall of the Upper Town was 
further protected by a stone ditch or moat, and sup- 
ported a serried array of heavy cannon, which, with 
mortars and other pieces of ordnance placed at every 
point of vantage in the Upper Town and citadel, 
peered like huge, black, and terrible gargoyles over 
the redoubts and through bomb-proof casemates. 
The Cul-de-sac at the Lower Town where the Lizard, 
the Hunter and a score or more of merchantmen were 
laid up for the winter; the River St. Lawrence and 
the Bay and River St. Charles, were commanded by 
the guns of the Upper Town and citadel. 

The Upper Town contained all the more notable 
public buildings and charitable and religious houses, 
such as the governor's house, the Castle of St. Louis, 
behind which was the Place d' Armes, the Church 
and Convent of the Recollects, the Jesuit College 
founded in 1637, the Hotel Dieu endowed in 1663 by 
Mgr. de Montmorency Laval, first Roman Catholic 
bishop of Quebec and Canada, and the Seminary of 
Quebec, established in 1639 by the Duchesse d' Aiguil- 
lon, niece of Richelieu, together with the private resi- 
dences of some of the government officials and lead- 
ing merchants. The private houses were, for the 
most part, built of a dark slate and gray limestone, 
quarried from the rock on which the city stood, and 
were only one story high. The streets were broad, 
though as rugged and even steeper than those of the 
Lower Town, and crossed one another at all sorts 
of angles. There were too many fine gardens and 



358 AIJNOLIVS KXI'KDTTTOX TO QUEBEC 

orchards, s(|uar('s and o])on ])laces, so that tlie high 
])iiblie buildings and elooniosynary institutions were 
thus given great ])roniinence, terraced, as they were, 
one above the other, on their lofty site. The ap- 
proach to the citadel far above was by a winding road 
leading from St. Louis gate, hewn from the solid 
rock and commanded everywhere by the guns of the 
different bastions. 

The Lower Town borrowed none of tliis grandeur; 
there were the warerooms and shops, the storehouses 
and sheds of a commercial district, and the homes of 
the burghers and the i)oor. The houses were of the 
same general character as those of the Il]'>per Town, 
but were two or three stories in height. Wharves and 
docks bordered the St. Lawrence and St. Charles, and 
seemed to keep the Lower Town from slipping back- 
ward into the water. But it was this squalid section 
of the fortress city that created and contained the 
wealth so generously lavished on the beautiful Up- 
per Town. It was at this, therefore, that Mont- 
gomery finally aimed, and through it that he hoped 
to conquer the Upper Town and citadel. 

The Americans had no means by which to make 
an attack from the water, and the strong tides and 
rapid current of the St. Lawrence made any approach 
on the ice too uncertain thus early in the season. 
The garrison having, therefore, little to fear on the 
water side of the Lower Town, were able to man the 
walls on the landward side in a more effectual manner 
than their numbers would otherwise have permitted. 
The Americans could not apjn'oach the wall day or 



Plan 
CiTY/\No Environs 

>_//s.v OF Quebec 

win. ITS SitGE/iND Blockade 
THE Americans 




BEFORE QUEBEC 159 

night without being fired upon with both cannon and 
small arms, for at the sound of the least suspicious 
movement at night, fire balls which would burn 
brightly even in the snow could be thrown with great 
advantage. The crossing of the moat, concealed in 
the deep drifts, would require care and time; any 
scaling ladders used must of necessity be long and 
unwieldy and on such treacherous footing would rest 
most insecurely against the high, ice-covered ram- 
parts. 

The artificial defenses of the city were not in the 
best of condition; Arnold in one of his sanguine mo- 
ments spoke of them as * ' ruinous. ' ' But even so, the 
natural strength of the citadel made it almost im- 
pregnable, and long before the Americans were ready 
to make their assault, the walls and bastions and 
gates had been put into such a state of repair, under 
the energetic supervision of Governor Carleton, that 
they cannot have failed much of the efficiency they 
were designed to possess. The garrison which held 
the fortifications was small, it is true, but it was at 
least well cormnanded. General Guy Carleton, the 
governor of Canada, who though absent upon Arnold's 
arrival made his way into Quebec soon after, as we 
shall see, had been "Wolfe's quartermaster-general, 
and was present at the famous battle on the Plains 
of Abraham in 1759. With a firm will, he possessed 
a gracious and winning manner, and such control over 
himself that he appeared unruffled and at ease in the 
midst of difficulties which reduced his subordinates to 
despondency. He was an excellent and experienced 



160 AliNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

officer withal, devoted to the Crown and unwavering 
in the discharge of his duty. 

The officer wlio immediately commanded the troops 
was Colonel Allen IMcLean, of the 84th regiment, 
called the Koyal Emigrants, hecause principally com- 
posed of those of the gallant Eraser's Highlanders, 
so conspicuous under Wolfe, who had settled in Can- 
ada. He was also an officer of ex])ei-ience and zeal, 
though a fierce partisan, a man of unflagging energy, 
and most active in devising and ])romoting plans for 
the defense of the city. It was he who had arrived 
with reinforcements in the very nick of time, just as 
Arnold had appeared at Point Levi. 

The British militia were under the command of 
Major Henry Caldwell, who had the provincial rank 
of lieutenant-colonel. He had served as deputy quar- 
termaster-general under Wolfe, and had settled in 
the province after the conquest. He also was an ener- 
getic and efficient officer, and, though his detestation 
of the rebels needed no stimulant, he had now good 
cause for personal ill-will, for it was his country seat 
which they had occupied and pillaged. The French- 
Canadian militia within the town were commanded by 
Colonel LeComte Dupre, an officer of ability and un- 
mistakable loyalty. He had held a commission in 
1755 under Marquis Duquesne. Like Caldwell, he 
had suffered at the hands of the Americans, some 
four hundred of whom had been quartered on his 
estate near Quebec, which they nearly ruined. 

The battalion of seamen was led by Colonel Hamil- 
ton, captain of the Lizard; and among the crews of 



BEFORE QUEBEC 161 

the ships were many excellent artillerists, who were 
of great service in manning the numerous batteries. 
Besides these there were not a few subordinate officers, 
who had gained valuable experience in frontier service 
and even in European campaigns. There were be- 
tween eight and nine hundred regulars, seamen and 
militia in the town, besides an uncertain number of 
loyal citizens who could be called upon in emergency 
to assist in the defense of the fortifications. The 
total number of persons— men, women and children— 
within the walls has been estimated at five thousand. 



11 



CHAPTER XI 
MONTGOMERY JOINS ARNOLD 

The situation of the Americans who besieged this 
fortress was critical. Their force was divided and 
those on the Quebec side of the river were too few 
to completely invest the city, while the small number 
still at Point Levi, divided from their comrades by 
the river and the vessels of war, stood in imminent 
danger of capture or dispersion; the French-Canadian 
population seemed friendly, but suspicious persons, 
assumed to be spies, were constantly lurking about 
the camp, and it was deemed too hazardous to risk 
giving oifense to the Canadians by making arrests. 
Meanwhile dissatisfaction with the rations was spread- 
ing. The riflemen thought Arnold fared too well, and 
claimed that the supplies were hardly more than the 
pittance they received on the Dead River. Morgan, 
Smith and Hendricks j^resented themselves before 
Arnold and represented the grievance of their men; 
a stormy altercation followed, but the result was a 
more favorable division for the riflemen. 

On the morning of the 15th, Arnold, under the 
impression that the day previous his flag had been 
fired upon by accident, sent another flag towards the 
city. But this met with a like wann reception, and 
no more attempts were made to demand the surrender 

(1G2) 



MONTGOMERY JOINS AENOLD 163 

of the city. The proceeding had been little better than 
mere bluster at best, for Arnold's men were too few 
to seriously threaten the town, even had they been 
well supplied with the ammunition and military sup- 
plies of which they were almost destitute, and there 
is reason to suppose that the defenders knew pretty 
nearly as well as the American commander himself 
the inadequacy of his force and its armament. What- 
ever were the fears of Cramahe the lieutenant-gover- 
nor, Colonel McLean was too old a soldier to be 
deceived by Arnold's attempt to magnify the strength 
of his following. 

On the low grounds near the River St. Charles was 
a large building known as the General Hospital, a 
cloistered convent established in 1693 by Mgr. de St. 
Valier, presided over by a Lady Superior, and the 
abode of some forty nuns, who ministered there to the 
old and infirm and those diseased. It was about 
three-quarters of a mile from the city wall. Some 
fifty feet in front of this there was a spacious log- 
building occupied by several priests headed by the 
Abbe de Rigaudville, chaplain of the nunnery. A 
party of stragglers first discovered these buildings, 
and had reason to consider the discovery a lucky one, 
since they were fed most generously by the nuns, 
whose pity overcame their fears and loyal resolutions 
not to aid the heretic enemy. These miserable, half- 
starved wretches seemed no part of the formidable 
army whose incursion they had been dreading for a 
week. The riflemen were immediately thrown for- 
ward to this log-house, which they used as a guard- 



164 AKNOLD'S EXPEDITTON TO QUEBEC 

house, under the shrewd and correct supposition that, 
as it stood directly between the town and tlie nun- 
nery, which was still occupied by some thirty nuns, 
and contained many articles of value not yet removed, 
the enemy would not fire in that direction. 

The guard put on duty here on November IG con- 
sisted of twenty-two men from Smith's company, com- 
manded by Lieutenant Simpson. Toward evening this 
detachment was relieved, but the new guard l)rought 
with them a villainous-looking Frenchman, who pre- 
sented himself to Simpson with a written order from 
Arnold, commanding that officer, with his guard, to 
accompany the bearer, who would act as guide, across 
the River St. Charles and secure some cattle, belong- 
ing to the government, which were feeding beyond 
the stream. It was so dangerous an undertaking that 
at first the order was doubted, but, after a short con- 
sideration, obeyed. Calling ' ' Come on, lads, ' ' to his 
guard, the lieutenant ran some hundreds of yards 
from the guard-house across the plains to the mouth 
of the St. Charles, where there was a ferry. A large 
windmill with a small house near it resembling a 
cooper's shop stood close by. 

Two large carts heavily laden with household goods, 
and with women and children fleeing from the sub- 
urb of St. Roque, were passing the ferry. The carts 
were already in the scow, and the ferrymen, seeing 
the riflemen coming, were tugging hard at the ropes 
to get off the boat, which was aground. Simpson, in- 
spired by the hope that the presence of the towns- 
people would protect his men from the fire of the 



MONTGOMERY JOINS ARNOLD 165 

enemy if once on board the boat, urged the race. 
Though the garrison had noticed the movement and 
opened fire with cannon, the agile riflemen reached 
the bank without casualty, and in a twinkling were 
masters of the ferryboat. But, as they rushed aboard, 
the weight of their bodies and arms served to fix the 
boat more firmly aground. 

Private Henry and Sergeant Dixon remained in 
the boat; the former, as ordered, called the flashes 
of the cannon, while the latter tugged at the ferry 
ropes. Their companions sprang overboard, waist- 
deep, and pushed and pulled, attempting to float the 
scow. The sun was setting in a clear sky, and the 
boat lay like a rock in the water; a target at point- 
blank shot, about three-quarters of a mile from Pal- 
ace gate, which issues into the suburb of St. Roque. 

High up on the battlements they could see the 
gunners ramming home their charges for another dis- 
charge. The men in the water were straining every 
nerve. Before Henry could announce the flash, a 
thirty-six pound ball, grazing the lower edge of a 
cart-wheel and descending a little, carried off Dixon's 
leg below the knee. He fell into the bottom of the 
boat, crying out to Simpson, ' ' I am gone ! ' ' The lieu- 
tenant leaped into the boat, and with the assistance 
of his men bore Dixon to the windmill. A distant 
shout of triumph was heard from the city, accom- 
panied by some fairly close shots. Dixon was carried 
on to the guard-house. The sad procession was under 
fire until it reached the protection of the nunnery, 
when the cannonade ceased. While the attention of 



166 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

the guard was distracted by Dixon's misfortune, the 
French guide fled from the windmill, and made good 
his escape to the city. The rascal, who it turned out 
was a government spy acting as a decoy, was unob- 
served until he had run several hundred yards along 
the beach of the Bay of St. Charles, and was Ijeyond 
gunshot. 

The wounded man was now borne on a litter to the 
house of an English gentleman, about a mile distant. 
Ur. Senter, who attended him, found it necessary to 
amputate; lockjaw followed, which caused death about 
nine o'clock of the ensuing day. This was the first 
blood shed by hostile hands before Quebec. After 
the amputation the doctor advised the patient, in de- 
fault of brandy, to drink some tea which would stim- 
ulate the desired reaction. The lady of the house 
brought a bowl of it, but Dixon, who had the patriot's 
detestation of the article through which England had 
tried to tax the colonies, shook his head and put it 
away from him, saying : ' ' No, madam ; it is the ruin 
of my country ! ' ' He could not be prevailed upon to 
alter his decision. 

On the 17th the Americans captured two captains 
of the French militia, who had ventured out from 
Quebec to enlist recruits from the peasantry. On the 
same day a deserter from McLean's regiment came 
into camp and brought news of the state of affairs in 
the city. On the 18th the English sallied out upon 
some of the American sentinels, but they were, for- 
tunately, discovered in time and driven back. Con- 
stant alarms, true and false, gave the men no rest 



MONTGOMERY JOINS ARNOLD 167 

that was not light and broken. Foraging on govern- 
ment and Tory stock, to which they strictly confined 
themselves, was the only relief from arduous and 
prolonged guard duty— arduous on account of the 
season of the year and the severity of the weather; 
prolonged because they were so few in numbers that 
there was only one relief before they were again 
obliged to go on duty. Those who were not on guard 
lay upon their arms in constant anticipation of an 
attempt of the enemy to surprise them. Hardsliip, 
anxiety, their meager supply of clothing, and the cold 
which every day became more severe, rendered their 
situation almost intolerable. To add to their uneasi- 
ness, a careful return made by Majors Bigelow and 
Meigs of their resources developed the fact that they 
had hardly five rounds of ammunition per man, and 
most of their muskets and rifles were without bayonets. 
In view of these facts, a council of war decided 
that it was too hazardous to await any longer the 
arrival of Montgomery, and that it would be wiser to 
withdraw to Pointe aux Trembles, a hamlet on the 
St. Lawrence about twenty miles west of Quebec, and 
having formed a junction there with Montgomery to 
return and renew the siege. Accordingly, on the 19th, 
early in the morning, the little force decamped. Cap- 
tains Thayer and Topham had been sent across the 
river during the night to bring over some invalids 
and supplies that were left behind, and on their re- 
turn, to their great surprise, found the command 
already on the march. The decision of the council 
had been hastened by a report that the enemy were 



168 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

informed of their precarious situation, and, fully ap- 
prised of tlieir poverty of anus and ammunition, were 
about to sally with seven field pieces. It was noticed, 
too, that the Lizard was sailing up the I'iver, which 
made the American officers the more inclined to sus- 
pect the information to be true, for it certainly looked 
like an attemi)t to cut them otf by throwing a force 
in their rear, or blocking Montgomery's progress down 
the river while the anticipated engagement was in 
progress before Quebec. 

The army therefore took up its march at once on 
the road to Three Rivers. They had been in frequent 
receipt from the Canadian peasantry of expressions of 
friendship and encouragement, and these people 
watched their departure with great regret, not un- 
mixed with anxiety. It was a sorry spectacle, this 
discouraging retrograde movement. The sympathetic 
Canadians spoke of the ragged battalions as ''nos 
pauvres freres." The road to Pointe aux Trembles, 
along the bank of the St. Lawrence, led them through 
stretches of leafless woodland, relieved by patches of 
spruce and fir, though before their journey ended they 
passed numerous well-kept and finely situated farm- 
houses. The immense volume of water in the St. 
Lawrence, and the beautiful views which it presented, 
even in the winter-bound landscape, delighted and 
astonished the men, and helped to distract their 
thoughts from the pain caused by their naked feet on 
the icy, uneven road. Blood on the snow from chil- 
blains and blisters marked their trail the whole dis- 
tance. As they ascended the river, an armed sloop 



MONTGOMERY JOINS ARNOLD 169 

and a small schooner passed them coming down; later 
they were to learn that the sloop carried Governor 
Carleton, who entered Quebec safely the same day. 

Carleton, hopeless of successfully defending Mon- 
treal, because of its want of fortifications, and also 
because of his distrust of its citizens and his want 
of confidence in the country train-bands of French 
peasantry which had gathered there, had abandoned 
the town to Montgomery, to the dismay of the loyal 
English Canadians. With about three hundred men 
and officers he boarded one of the fleet of vessels 
which were lying in the harbor, and having loaded 
these ships with all the munitions and provisions be- 
longing to the government, he hurriedly set out for 
Quebec. But upon encountering Easton's guard and 
petty forts at Sorel and St. Ignace, about forty miles 
below Montreal, the Governor landed at Lavaltrie, a 
few leagues below Montreal, and accompanied by the 
Chevr. de Niverville and M. Lanaudiere fils, entered 
a barge belonging to a coasting trader, named Bou- 
chette, nicknamed "La Tourtre " (the wild pigeon), 
because he made very quick voyages. Dropping down 
stream with muffled oars, he slipped by Easton 's guard 
at Sorel, and passing through the channel of the Isle 
du Pas by night, the crew paddling only with their 
hands so close were they to the shore, he reached 
Three Rivers, where he had landed a second time. 
Below Three Rivers at the foot of Richelieu rapids, he 
had boarded the Snow Fell, an armed sloop com- 
manded by Captain Napier, and thus was landed at 
Quebec, to the great joy of the loyalists (who had 



170 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

had no news from him since the 5th of November), 
and, as it proved, to the salvation of all Canada. 

No sooner had Carleton arrived at Quebec than 
he instituted astute and energetic measures for the 
safety and defense of the city. He ostracised per- 
sons of sus]iected disloyalty, or compelled them to 
take up arms for its defense; he extended and en- 
forced a previous proclamation of embargo, and thus 
obtained not only the control of the merchant shi])ping 
then at Quebec, but added their crews to his garrison; 
he promised all the mechanics and other townsmen 
who had no provisions, to sui)i)ly them and their 
families at the expense of the King, during the siege, 
and to give each twenty-eight coppers per day, and 
to clothe them to boot. His generosity, affable man- 
ners and address won the hearts of the citizens, 
and they resolved to support him with a will. "We 
already understand the prompt and efficient measures 
which had been taken by his subordinates during his 
absence. 

Easton in the meantime, ignorant of the Governor's 
escape, threatened to board the fleet if it were not at 
once surrendered. Colonel Richard Prescott, who 
had been left in command, his ]:)ilots having mutinied 
and refused to pass the forts, flung overboard all his 
powder and ball and surrendered. Montgomery thus 
became possessed of the means of transporting his 
army to join Arnold at Pointe aux Trembles, for the 
fleet w^as immediately sent up to Montreal. There 
were eleven vessels, well armed and equipped. Sev- 
eral officers and one hundred and twentv resfular 



MONTGOMERY JOINS ARNOLD 171 

troops of the Tth and 26th regiments, and about one 
hundred Canadians were surrendered with them. 

The waters of the St. Lawrence were such good 
transmitters of sound that Arnold's men on the march 
could hear distinctly the reports of cannon fired by 
way of feu-de-joie at Montreal, upon Montgomery's 
entry. At evening they reached Pointe aux Trembles, 
a straggling village with a spacious chapel dedicated 
to St. Nicholas. Here they began to enjoy comfort- 
able quarters in the village and outlying farmhouses, 
though they were obliged to disperse for a distance of 
some miles up and down the river. Provisions were 
plenty, particularly beef. But they could obtain no 
supply of clothing here, and some of the poor fellows 
were almost naked. 

The Corvee of France was still maintained in this 
part of Canada and kept the roads in excellent order. 
In low grounds they were ditched on the sides and 
curved towards the center; every forty or fifty yards 
on each side of the road throughout its extent, young 
pines were stuck in the ground, to mark the safest 
passage, for in midwinter the snow often lay from 
three to five feet over the surface, covering the fences 
completely, and no one traveled during the months 
of December, January and February, except by these 
roads or upon snow-shoes. 

The manner of living and fare of the peasantry has 
undergone little change since that day. The farm- 
houses were thatched and whitewashed as we now 
find them, whole families living in two or three rooms 
with a spacious garret above, where in the winter 



172 AKXOT.D'S; I-:XPi:i)TTTON TO QFKBEC 

season fowl killed in the fall and frozen in their 
feathers, hung sus])ended from the rafters with 
strings of parched corn and frozen meat. Over the 
close iron stove in the kitchen and living-room ran 
lines for the drying of dishcloths and clothing. The 
common breakfast was sour black bread, salt and 
garlic, and the dinner a great pot of potatoes, cab- 
bage and beef boiled to shreds. The cattle were 
close-housed in am] tie barns during the winter, and 
the live fowd stowed away in the w^armest corner of 
the hay loft. 

On the 20th an express from General Montgomery 
reached Pointe aux Trembles with the news that 
Governor Carleton had quitted ^fontreal to go to 
Quebec with the determination of holding that strong- 
hold at all events; that the King's troops had aban- 
doned the town and shipping just as Montgomery 
was about to attack them with row-gallies and boats 
with artillery mounted on them; that it was Carleton 
who had passed them on their march; that Mont- 
gomery had captured a large quantity of provisions 
and clothing and thirteen sail ; and that he would 
immediately join Arnold with men and artillery. 
Those of Arnold's detachment yet remaining on the 
opposite bank of the St. Lawrence had received 
orders to march u]) the river along the bank. A 
man w^as now sent across the river to stop these 
troops, and the}' were transferred, when opportunity 
offered, to Pointe aux Trembles. On this day Arnold 
sent Captain Ogden to j\Iontgomery with a letter 
acquainting him with the reasons which had led to 



MONTGOMERY JOINS ARNOLD 173 

the retreat to Point aux Trembles and urging that 
ammunition and clothing be sent forward as quickly 
as possible. The hope was also expressed that the 
junction of the two forces might not be long delayed, 
in order that active operations against Quebec might 
be undertaken. 

' ' They are getting all the provisions they possibly 
can out of the country, ' ' he wrote, ' ' and are doubtless 
determined to make the best defense. From the best 
accounts I can get their force is about 1,900 men, 
including 600 obliged to bear arms against their in- 
clination, and who would join us if opportunity pre- 
sented, and 400 neutrals. You will from the above 
account be better able to judge of the force necessary 
to carry the town. If my opinion is of any service, 
I should think 2,000 necessary, as they must be 
divided at the distance of three or four miles to 
secure the passes effectually. And as there is no 
probability of cannon making a breach in the walls 
I should think mortars of the most service, the sit- 
uation for throwing shells being extremely good, and 
I think this course would soon bring them to com- 
pliance. If not, time and perseverance must effect 
it before they can possibly be relieved. My hard 
cash is nearly exhausted. It will not be sufficient 
for more than ten days or a fortnight; and as the 
French have been such sufferers by paper I do not 
think it prudent to offer it them at present." By 
way of clothing and supplies he asked for 600 pairs 
coarse yarn stockings, 500 yards woollen for breeches, 
1,000 yards flannel or baize for shirts, 300 milled 



174 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

capes, 300 milled mittens or gloves, 300 blankets, 
powder and ball, one barrel of West India rum, and 
one barrel of sugar. 

Montgomery's arrival was awaited for nearly a 
fortnight with ever-inereasing imi)atience. The long, 
hard march from Quebec and the severity of the 
service had occasioned severe cases of pneumonia 
and angina, while too frequent indulgence in eating, 
after their long abstinence, produced no Jess danger- 
ous inflammations. Numbers of the men improved 
the respite at Pointe aux Trembles by working on 
moccasins and shoes, but the leather was very poor 
and the cold, frosty ground wore out any foot-cov- 
ering rapidly. They found the most satisfactory 
foot-gear to be moccasins of sealskin stuffed with 
dry grass or dead leaves. For the most j^art, how- 
ever, there was nothing to do but stand their ground 
and await as calmly as might be the appearance of 
the sadly needed supplies and reinforcements. That 
Arnold still possessed the confidence of most of his 
men throughout this trying period of inaction and 
discomfort is plainly evidenced by ample testimony. 
One of his officers who, though more enthusiastic 
than most, still voiced the sentiment of many of his 
comrades, wrote from Pointe aux Trembles on No- 
vember 21 : 

' * Our commander is a gentleman worthy of the 
confidence reposed in him,— a man, I believe, of in- 
vincible courage; a man of great prudence; ever 
serene, he defies the greatest danger to affect him, 
or difficulties to alter his temper; in fine, you 



MONTGOMERY JOINS ARNOLD 175 

will ever see him the intrepid hero, the unruffled 
Christian. ' ' 

November 25 the Hunter, a brig, and a schooner, 
hove in sight, beating up from Quebec; the vessels 
were armed. Arnold immediately despatched a ser- 
geant and six men in a canoe to carry the intelli- 
gence to General Montgomery, and lest, by some 
mischance, his warning might miscarry, he sent a 
similar letter also by land. The vessels did not pro- 
ceed far up the stream, however. A thin sheet of ice 
already covered the surface of the river, and the 
officers did not care to risk the chance of being 
frozen in for the winter so far from the guns of 
Quebec. A few days later they dropped down the 
river again and no further attempt was made to 
prevent the junction of the colonial forces. 

On the 27th the long-expected express arrived with 
news that ammunition and cannon from Montgomery 
were at St. Anne's, thirty miles above Pointe aux 
Trembles, waiting to be transferred; and in the after- 
noon Lieutenant Hutchins and a detail of sixty men 
were sent off to meet these munitions, and bring them 
into the camp. Arnold himself followed next day, 
while Captain Goodrich, with two subalterns, four 
sergeants and sixty-four men, was despatched to 
meet General Montgomery's advance guard and to 
watch the movements of the vessels in the river. At 
the same time, in anticipation of the immediate return 
of the combined forces to Quebec, about the same 
number of riflemen, under the command of Captain 
Morgan, were despatched to the city to watch and 



17G AKNULD'S KXl'KDlTlON TO QTEliEC 

re))Oi-l rmy movonionts of tlio oiioiny in tliat direction. 
The detail under llulcliins, midway oti their second 
day's march, met the cannon and ammunition wagons, 
and escorted them tlie same day hack to tlie vilhige 
of Deschambault, wlience they were liurried on to 
Pointe aux Trembles. Captain Jeremiah Dnggan, 
once a liairdresser at Quebec, later a wheat dealer 
at Montreal, and an ardent rebel, was in command of 
the party which conveyed the amnmnition. 

On the 30th another letter was despatched to Gen- 
eral Montgomery, whose delay in descending the river 
caused the energetic Arnold no little anxiety and im- 
patience. 

"I have not had the pleasure of hearing from you 
these ten days," it ran; ''am very anxious for your 
safe arrival. The ammunition you ordered us has 
been strangely delayed and has not yet come to 
hand, but hourly expected. On receipt of it I intend 
returning to my old quarters near (Quebec. Nothing 
has lately occurred worth notice except the burning 
of jMajor Caldwell's house, supposed to be done by 
order of Governor Carleton to deprive us of winter 
quarters. The inhabitants of Quebec are much dis- 
united and short of provisions. We have many friends 
there, and if the place is attacked with spirit I believe 
will hold out but a short time." 

This letter seems to have been carried to Mont- 
gomery by the young volunteer aide, Aaron Burr. 
Much has been made by Knapp, Davis and Parton of 
Burr's brilliant exploit in carrying dispatches from 
Arnold to Montgomery. Knapp says that he per- 



MONTGOMERY JOINS ARNOLD 177 

formed this service disguised as a young Roman 
Catholic priest, and that he made the journey from 
Point Levi on Arnold's first arrival there, while Davis 
is careless enough to state that Burr left Arnold on 
this mission at Chaudiere pond. The story told by 
Davis is that Burr was a master of the Latin lan- 
guage, and had some knowledge of French, and 
knowing that the Eoman Catholic priesthood were fa- 
vorably disposed towards the rebels, he persuaded 
them to allow him to adopt this disguise, and to pass 
him on from one religious house to another, until he 
reached Montgomery. The story is prettily embel- 
lished by Davis and Parton and told with consider- 
able exactness by Knapp. Unfortunately the letter of 
Arnold's quoted below discredits both dates and facts 
alike, and shows us that Burr must have had a much 
easier time in accomplishing his brilliant feat than his 
biographers have led us to suppose, for expresses had 
been passing to and fro over the route which he must 
have taken between Montgomery and Arnold for many 
days. His friend Ogden had preceded him by more 
than a week, and the journey from Pointe aux Trem- 
bles to Montgomery's camp as late as November 30, 
when this letter is dated, could not have been very 
hazardous. The letter, which is brief enough, runs 
thus: 

Dear Sir: — This will be handed you by Mr. Burr, a vol- 
unteer in the army, and son to the former President of New 
Jersey College. 

He is a young gentleman of much life and activity, and 

12 



178 ARNOLD'S EXrEDlTION TO QUEBEC 

has acted with great spirit and resolution on our fatiguing 
inarch. His conduct, T make no doubt, will be sufficient 
recommendation to your favor. 

I am, dear Sir, your most obod't h'])le 

B. Arnold. 
Brigadier-General ]\Iontgomery. 

Twice only among the numerous journals of the 
expedition through the wilderness do we find mention 
of Burr. His youth and insignificant stature, and the 
humble position lie held as an unattached volunteer 
without a commission, readily explain this omission. 
Once we hear of him on the chain of lakes, and 
again on the Chaudiere near the dying McClelland 
at the Falls of Sault, but it is merely to remark his 
presence and bearing. We are told by his biographers 
that as he was habitually obliged to be very abstemi- 
ous in his diet, he stood the privations of the march 
much better than heavier and stronger men, while 
by his knowledge of boat-craft he won the respect of 
his comrades and found a sphere of usefulness in 
which he gained the good-will of his superiors, al- 
ready attracted to him by his birth and breeding. 

Jacataqua, the Indian girl who through fondness 
for Burr had, with some of her people, followed the 
army from Fort Western, was still faithful. A few 
days after the encampment at Pointe aux Trembles, 
according to an oft-repeated story, the promising 
young officer and Jacataqua, wiiile on a hunting ex- 
pedition, came to a brook of pure water in the for- 
est. Having no cup, Burr was proceeding to use the 
top of his cap as a vessel in which to offer his com- 



MONTGOMERY JOINS ARNOLD 179 

panion water, when a British officer, hunting or scout- 
ing, who had come to the other side of the brook by 
chance at the same moment, saluted him politely and 
offered him the use of his drinking cup. The two 
struck up a friendship, and advancing to the middle 
of the stream shook hands and pledged one another, 
agreeing, once the war was over, to be good friends 
and to try to see more of one another. By private 
agreement, without injury to the cause of either, they 
met several times both before and after the assault 
on Quebec, and it is probable that during these in- 
terviews arrangements were made for the protection 
of Jacataqua and the child which it was now become 
apparent she had conceived, in one of the nunneries 
of the city. Such, at least, is the romantic account 
which Burr's biographers have handed down to us 
and which has at least the support of tradition. 

On the 28th of November, the British vessels from 
Quebec having dropped down the river again, Mont- 
gomery embarked on board the captured sloop of war 
Gaspe, and in company with the schooner Mary set 
sail to join Arnold at Pointe aux Trembles. On board 
these two vessels were Cheesman's and Weisenfel's 
companies of Ritzema's regiment, one company of the 
2d, and two of the 3d regiment, all of New York, and 
a part of Captain Lamb's company of artillery. They 
carried with them four field pieces and six mortars; 
cannon, other mortars, shells, shot and powder were 
to be brought from Chambly and meet them at Sorel. 
Three days later Major Zedwitz, with Mott's, Varick's, 
and Quackenboss 's companies on another prize vessel, 



180 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

and four transports witli further supplies of ammuni- 
tion and stores, followed. On the first day of De- 
cember General Mont^^omery reached Pointe aux 
Trembles. Arnold's detachment was ordered down 
to the cha})el of St. Nicholas and paraded in two 
battalions in front of it, to welcome him. The slcy 
was lowering and the weather veiy cold, but the 
soldierly a])pearance and manly bearing of Mont- 
gomery a7ii mated and encouraged the long-suffering, 
shivering battalions. 

Richard Montgomery's father was Thomas Mont- 
gomer}% an Irish gentleman of Donegal. His mother 
was an English lady of fortune. He was born near 
Dublin and was educated at Trinity College. He 
had seen service in America as a lieutenant and cap- 
tain in the 17tli British regiment, under General Am- 
herst at the siege of Louisburg in 1758. After the 
war he returned to England. Fox, Burke, and Barre 
were his friends, and he became an ardent admirer of 
republican institutions. When the Stamp Act was to 
be enforced, order was at first given to employ his 
regiment, then in England. All their service having 
been in America, Montgomery, with several others, 
declared publicly that they had lived so long in 
America that they would throw up their commissions 
if the order was persisted in. 

In 1771 he had the promise of a majority, and 
had lodged his money for the purchase, but he was 
overlooked and another preferred over him. This 
treatment disgusted him with the service and he im- 
mediately sold his commission. He emigrated to New 




^. .^-^^^^^^^ 





MONTGOMERY JOINS AENOLD 181 

York, purchased a farm at Kingsbridge, and in July, 
1773, married Janet, the daughter of Robert R. Liv- 
ingston, one of the judges of the King's Bench in 
the colony of New York, and a man of influence and 
wealth. He then removed to Rhinebeck, on the Hud- 
son, where he built a mill and laid the foundations of 
a home. He was chosen in 1775 one of the council 
of fifty from Duchess county, and when Schuyler was 
appointed a major-general, the appointment of brig- 
adier-general was tendered Montgomery. Before ac- 
cepting it he came into his young wife's room, and 
asked her to make up for him the ribbon cockade 
which was to be placed on his hat. He noticed her 
emotion, and saw that tears were starting. With per- 
suasive gentleness he said to her, ' ' Our country is in 
danger. Unsolicited, in two instances, I have been 
distinguished by two honorable appointments; as a 
politician I could not serve them, as a soldier I think 
I can. Shall I, then, accept the one and shrink from 
the other in dread of danger? My honor is engaged." 
Mrs. Montgomery took the ribbon, and he continued, 
''I am satisfied. Trust me. You shall never blush 
for your Montgomery." Such was the strong sense of 
duty and the sensitive temper of the chivalrous soldier 
who was now to assume command of the American 
forces. 

Montgomery had just reached his thirty-ninth year. 
He was tall and slender, well formed, handsome of 
feature, and of a most soldierly bearing. He made 
the troops a short but energetic and well-chosen 
speech, in which he applauded their courage in pass- 



182 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

in^ lhr()iii;-li tlie wilderness, coiiiplliiieiiliiig tliem on 
their good ai)pearance, their perseverance and tlieir 
spirit. The men were most favorably impressed with 
their new commander and though shivering with the 
cold, cheered him lustily. The same day Captain 
Ogden returned with stores of all sorts for the soldiers 
from Montreal, and matters assumed at once a still 
more cheerful aspect. Among the supplies were a 
quantity of uniforms ca])tured at St. John's, and the 
provincials, long without whole clothing of any sort, 
were only too glad to compromise with their pride 
and assume the livery of the King. 

The force with Montgomery that now joined Arnold 
was only about three hundred in number, Montgom- 
ery having deemed it necessary to leave the rest of 
his anny under General Wooster to garrison IMontreal, 
and hold other strategic points in the surrounding 
country. With the exception of Lamb's artillery, the 
New York troops were far inferior to those under Ar- 
nold, measured by every military standard. Many 
were very young boys. Montgomery had found him- 
self often at his wit's end to control the turbulent, 
indei:)endent spirit they and their officers as well, too 
often displayed. He was, therefore, unprepared for 
the picked troops of Arnold, and wrote to General 
Schuyler, under date of December 5 : " Colonel Ar- 
nold 's corps is an exceedingly fine one, and he him- 
self is active, intelligent and enterprising— with a 
style of discipline much superior to what I have been 
used to see in this campaign. ' ' 

The united forces, still less than a thousand strong, 



MONTGOMERY JOINS ARNOLD 183 

now retraced the route to Quebec, beginning their 
march on the morning of the 2d. Snow had fallen 
all night and continued during the day. The counter- 
march on the untrodden snow was hardly less trying 
than the march on the icy roads. Their moccasins 
had, of course, no heels to support the position of 
the foot, and so produced great fatigue to wearers 
unaccustomed to their use; snow-shoes would have 
been of great assistance, but they had none. Even- 
ing brought them to the parish of St. Foy, about 
three miles from Quebec; Morgan was lodged a little 
nearer the city. He had quartered his men in some 
low and pretty country houses, where they were very 
comfortable. 

Before leaving Point aux Trembles Arnold ordered 
Captain Handchett to convey down some arms, pro- 
visions and cannon in bateaux to C clears, within a 
league of Quebec, while the field artillery were sent 
down by road. After the bateaux crews had unloaded 
the cannon, they were to cross to Point Levi for 
scaling ladders. Handchett flatly refused to obey the 
order, alleging the danger of the undertaking to be 
too great. Arnold, enraged at the refusal, sent for 
Captains Topham and Thayer, swearing he would put 
Handchett under arrest. Upon their appearance he 
requested one of them to perform the duty. Both 
eagerly accepted, and, being emulous of the honor, 
could only settle which should go by turning ' ' heads 
or tails." The coin, to the vexation of Captain Top- 
ham and the satisfaction of Captain Thayer, came 
down in favor of the latter. 



184 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

So Thayer loaded the bateaux and towards even- 
ing, the tide serving, started on his perilous voyage. 
Ilis crews cut through the ice for about a quarter of 
a mile, until they reached clear water, and then rowed 
and drifted with the tide eighteen miles, rowing with 
the utmost eagerness to keep from freezing. Such a 
fierce snow-storm raged that the bateaux became sep- 
arated from one another. Captain Thayer ordered 
some guns to be fired and, guided by the flashes, the 
boats, with great difficulty, reassembled and then made 
for the shore near Cape Rouge. The bateaux being 
very heavy and now covered with ice went aground 
among the rocks, and the men, very impatient and 
unwilling to remain aboard, jumped into the icy water 
up to their arm-pits and with great difficulty reached 
shore. There they brought some horses, threw out a 
line, and hauled the bateaux on shore, thus enabling 
the Captain and the rest of his detail to land without 
much difficulty. 



CHAPTER XII 
THE INVESTMENT 

December 3 found the Americans cantoned from 
Pointe aux Trembles to old Lorette. They soon occu- 
pied, also, Beauport across the St. Charles, and "La 
Cardaniere," with headquarters at the Holland house 
on the St. Foy road. They were well supplied with 
clothing and ammunition, and with the cannon, mor- 
tars and howitzer brought from Montreal and Chambly 
made ready to prosecute the siege in a more vigorous 
manner. The whole army was in high spirits. The 
peasantry began to show open sympathy with the 
rebels, and Duggan, the hairdresser, commissioned a 
major in the Continental service, was recruiting among 
them with fair success. He fearlessly entered the 
suburb of St. Roque and disarmed many of the Cana- 
dians who were enrolled in the loyal militia. 

At the parish of St. Augustine, the American offi- 
cers were entertained by the curate, Michael Berian, 
with hospitality and elegance. There was frequent 
interchange of such civilities between the officers and 
village priests, in spite of a mutual want of confidence. 
The officers wished to conciliate and attach the clergy 
to their interests ; the priests hoped to secure protection 
for themselves and their flocks from the soldiery, and 
in some instances, to secure information for the enemy. 

(185) 



186 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

By the 4tli of December tliere was so much ice in 
the St. Lawrence that it was not possible for the 
f)rovincials to cross and bring over more scaling lad- 
ders, and those which had been already constructed 
were found too short and clumsy for use in the snow- 
drifts. Carpenters were immediately set to work to 
construct others. Dearborn's company— their captain 
having at last recovered from his illness and returned 
to them from the cabin on the Chaudiere— was ordered 
to the General Hospital for quarters. Subsequently as 
many as four hundred of the Americans were quar- 
tered in the great hall or in the servants' lodgings. 
This building we have already noticed. It was a 
chapel, nunnery and hospital, all under one roof. 
Dr. Senter now presided there. There were not many 
sick at first, but they soon became more numerous. 
The enemy continued to respect the place, and never 
fired upon it, though they often made it dangerous 
for the doctor to i)ass to and from the hospital and 
the quarters of the army. The provincial officers 
treated the nuns with respect and did everything they 
could to secure their peace and protect them from 
any insult; Montgomery especially won their esteem, 
but the soldieiy they regarded as little better than 
imps of hell, though they could not complain that any 
discourtesy was shown them personally. 

On the 6th, two companies were sent to Beauport 
to watch the motions of the enemy. Captains Duggan 
and Smith took a vessel and six men, loaded with 
provisions and small stock, and $382 in cash which 
belonged to the government, not far from the Isle of 



THE INVESTMENT 187 

Orleans. The people at La Point a la Caille, below 
Quebec, unloaded the supplies from a craft destined 
for the city. Though the Canadians seldom so openly 
showed the courage of their convictions, and were 
very little to be depended upon, their confidence and 
aid would surely keep pace with the increasing cer- 
tainty of rebel success. 

The English, on the other hand, were once more 
cooped up in Quebec. However, the energetic meas- 
ures of Governor Carleton had done much to restore 
confidence and prevent the occurrence of seditious 
meetings, and the city's defenders were soon united 
and organized. Business men and others, worth three 
thousand and four thousand pounds, cheerfully did 
sentry duty, though a number of British merchants, 
weather-cocks in politics, had voluntarily withdrawn 
from the city to the Island of Orleans, to Charles- 
bourg, or to other places in the country where they 
had villas, to await the result of the siege, and hail 
it with ' ' God save the King ! " or ^ ' Congress forever ! ' ' 
according to circumstances. All others who would 
not enroll themselves in the militia had been com- 
pelled to leave the city. 

The first care of the garrison after Arnold's re- 
treat to Pointe aux Trembles was to secure stout spar 
timber for palisading a great extent of open ground 
between the Palace and Hope gates, and again from 
Cape Diamond, along the brow of the cape towards 
the castle St. Louis. They began palisading at Pal- 
ace gate, behind the Hotel Dieu, loopholing for mus- 
ketry, and constructed a projection in the form of a 



188 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

bastion as a defense for the line of pickets, and in 
the gorge of this wooden l)astion erected a blockhouse, 
which made an excellent defense. The Halifax artifi- 
cers, as soon as thoy arrived, were set to woi'k at 
])alisading the open ground on Cape Diamond, and 
framing and erecting a large blocldiouse on the out- 
side of Porte St. Louis, to serve as a captain's guard- 
house, and an outpost to i)revent surprise; also 
another blocldiouse on the Cape, under Cape Dia- 
mond bastion. At the same thne a party was em- 
ployed in laying i)latforms and repairing merlons and 
embrasures, while carj^enters erected barricades, which 
we shall hereafter more particularly^ describe, at Pres 
de Ville and Sault au Matelot, the extremities of the 
Lower Town. All the windows of the houses next 
to the river side, facing the water, were blocked up, 
leaving only loopholes for musketry, that they might 
be used as forts in case the St. Lawrence should be 
frozen over. So steadily and rapidly was the work 
pushed that by December 1 there were one hundred 
and fifty pieces of artillery mounted and ready for 
service. Provisions for eight months had been ac- 
cumulated, but they had not been able to secure more 
than a scant supply of hay, oats and firewood, the last, 
in a winter siege in such a climate, of great impor- 
tance. 

On December 1, by strenuous exertions in recruit- 
ing, the garrison had increased their strength to a 
total, bearing arms, of eighteen hundred, as follows: 
22 of the 4th battalion, Royal Artillery, 70 of the 
Royal Fusileers or 7tli regiment, 230 Royal Emigrants 



THE INVESTMENT 189 

or 84th regiment, 330 British militia, 543 Canadians, 
400 seamen, 50 masters and mates, 35 marines, 120 
artificers. 

Hardly was Montgomery encamped before the city, 
when he sent forward to the walls a letter to Carle- 
ton demanding the surrender of the town, and couched 
in no less bombastic tones than the severely criticised 
letters of Arnold. This communication the guard on 
the rampart refused to receive, though it did at last 
reach Carleton through the agency of a woman who 
on some pretext or other gained admission to the city. 
By the Governor's orders she was at once imprisoned, 
and a few days later drummed out of town. 

The only response to the letter was a heavy can- 
nonade of the suburbs of St. Roque and St. John, 
from which the inhabitants had been warned. Mont- 
gomery immediately addressed the following procla- 
mation to the citizens of Quebec, which, with sundry 
copies, both in French and English, of his letter to 
Carleton, he caused to be shot over the walls on 
arrows : 

My Brothers and Friends: — The unfortunate necessity of 
dislodging the Ministerial troops compels me to besiege 
your town. It is with the greatest reluctance that I am 
compelled to resort to measures which may be disastrous to 
you. Your town a prey to flames at this season, a general 
assault upon ruined walls defended by a still worse gar- 
rison, confusion, carnage, pillage— the inevitable followers 
of an assault, — these thoughts fill me with horror. I en- 
treat you to use every exertion in your power to obtain for 
me a peaceable entry. Doubtless you have had no faith in 



190 AKXULD'S KXI'EDITIUN TO qUFAiEC 

the base cahinmies cast abroad to our disadvantage by the 
seoiindrcls in the i)ay of the ]\Iinisti-y. Tlie arms of the 
Colonics have never been tarnislied by any act of violence 
or inliuinanity. We profess to come to . . . give lil)erty 
and peaceable enjoyment of property in this oppressed 
province, having always respected, as sacred, the property 
of individuals. Enclosed you will find my letter to General 
Carleton. because he has always cleverly evaded allowing 
you to liave any knowledge whidi was i)roper to open your 
eyes to your interests. If he is still obstinate and you 
allow him to persist in enveloping you in a ruin in which 
perhaps he desires to hide his shame, my conscience will 
not reproach me with having failed to warn you of your 
danger. 

Richard ]\Iontgomery. 

The investment of the city was now complete, and 
preparations were well under way for offensive opera- 
tions. It was high time. Smallpox had broken out 
among the peasantry, and as the men fraternized, 
and in many instances, lodged with the people, it 
seemed certain that the army would soon have this 
new terror to contend with. Spies, both men and 
women, sent out from Quebec, were often taken, 
but it does not appear that they were ever executed. 
It is even charged that women of loose character were 
sent among the men by the British with the hope that 
they might thus infect the army with smallpox. 

While the New England and New York troops were 
completing the investment of the town, the riflemen 
amused themselves every day by po})i)ing at sentries 
from behind old walls and houses in the suburbs of 



THE INVESTMENT 191 

St. John. Some of Carleton's officers condemned his 
indulgence because he had not burnt all of these 
suburbs, since they served the enemy so well as an 
ambush, but his regard for the loss such an act would 
entail on the peasant and bourgeois proprietors held 
his hand, and he contented himself with destroying a 
few near the ramparts. Perhaps he also feared the 
ill-effect of so severe a measure upon the wavering 
Canadians. 

Arnold had ordered Captain Handchett to move 
forward and take quarters near the city, and upon 
that officer's refusing to do so, on the same ground 
that he had before taken when ordered to move the 
heavy guns down the river— that the service was too 
dangerous— Arnold sent for Captains Topliam, Thayer 
and Hubbard. These officers consented, and were, in 
consequence, exposed for three weeks to very immi- 
nent danger. Topham and Thayer had several balls 
fired through their quarters, one passing between them 
as they lay in their bed without hurting them. 

General Montgomery himself had an escape almost 
as narrow. On the 8th of December he called at Me- 
nut's tavern, which was about a mile west of the 
town. A few minutes after he got out of his cariole, 
a cannon shot from the city killed his horse and de- 
molished the vehicle. 

The arrival of the artillery, the lack of which had 
made Arnold's first investment of the city almost ri- 
diculously ineffective, now rendered it possible to con- 
duct the siege in a somewhat more soldierly and 
impressive manner. Captain John Lamb, who with 



192 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

his battery of seventy men had come witli ^Montgomery 
from New York, was in command of tlie guns, and 
his energies were for some days I'ully occupied in get- 
ting liis cannon uj) from the sliore of the river to the 
Heights of Abraham, and mounting them for the ser- 
vice they were to discharge. Meanwhile Montgomery 
and Arnold together visited the General Hospital on 
the St. Charles, and, guided by the trembling ]\rother 
Superior, ascended to the cu])ola, from whence they 
selected the site foi* their fii'st battery. Tlie soldiers 
at once began to erect a redoubt on this spot, taking 
advantage of an eminence on the road to St. Foy, 
about eight hundred yards to the southwest of St. 
John's gate on the easterly slo]:»e of a hill. The forti- 
fication, if it can be dignified by that name, was made 
of fascines and of gabions filled with what little earth 
the men could scrape up from the frozen ground, and 
packed with snow. Water was poured freely over the 
whole and the mass allowed to freeze solid. It was 
such a weak defense that it seems almost criminal to 
have ordered men to serve there. The play of the 
guns of the enemy would be so lively upon the breast- 
works, when discovered, that the artillery men did not 
dare at first to labor during the daytime, and it was 
not until the 10th that the platforms were erected and 
the guns in position. The battery mounted, when 
complete, five small twelve-pounders and a howitzer. 
At daylight on the same day, before the Americans 
were ready to fire their first gun, the English discov- 
ered the battery, and immediately opened upon it. 
In short order it was bored through and through 



THE INVESTMENT 193 

with their balls, and several of the cannoneers were 
wounded. The American artillerymen only succeeded 
in throwing a few shots into the city. But they had 
in a day or two repaired the damage, and pluckily 
stood to their guns, while the feeble breastworks were 
again riddled, a gun disabled and the howitzer dis- 
mounted. Two men were killed and five wounded by 
a single shot of the enemy, who, during the 13th, by 
the accuracy of their fire, seemed certain to render the 
position untenable. 

Immediately after these casualties, Montgomery 
with his aide, Burr, visited the breastworks, and find- 
ing Lamb and his brave fellows still engaged, re- 
marked to the captain : ' ' This is warm work, sir ! " 
' ' It is, indeed, ' ' replied Lamb ; ' ' and certainly no place 
for you." "Why not?" inquired the General. "Be- 
cause there are enough of us here to be killed without 
the loss of you, which would be irreparable," came 
the sturdy reply. Shortly afterward the plucky cap- 
tain was ordered to cease firing and bring off his guns. 
The ice battery was a shattered ruin, and had proved 
a costly experiment. 

A mortar battery, which mounted two brass three- 
pounders, two royals and three howitzers, was also 
planted by the Americans near the center of the 
suburb of St. Roque, not more than 200 yards from 
the ramparts. But the shells were only of five and 
one-half inches and did no damage in the town, ex- 
cept to the roofs of houses; even the women came 
to laugh at them, and it seems certain that they 
killed no one. However, Dr. Senter notes that, 

13 



194 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

'* agreeable to prescription, fifty-five more of the fire- 
pills were given to the Carletonians last evening. 
Ol)erated with manifest perturbation, they were, as 
usual, alarmed, bells beating, dogs barking, etc. 
Their cannonade still continued on the batter}^ but 
to no advantage. Forty-five more pills as cathartic 
last night. ' ' 

To this fusillade the enemy responded with spirit, 
and with somewhat more effect. On the 14th alone 
the garrison fired three hundred and fifty-seven shot 
at the American works. A few men who had ven- 
tured too near the walls and were sheltered in a 
house in one of the suburbs were killed and several 
more were wounded, while Arnold himself was obliged 
to leave his quarters, two shots having passed through 
the house. For the most part, however, the exchange 
of hostilities, though noisy and persistent, inflicted 
little damage on either force. 

It is evident, indeed, from Montgomery's letters 
to General Wooster, who remained in command at 
Montreal, that he never placed any serious reliance 
on his artillery, and knew very well that he was too 
feeble in that arm to make any breach in the city 
walls. His purpose was merely to deplete the ene- 
my's supply of ammunition, to annoy them, and to 
distract their attention from his real design,— an 
assault upon the city. The postponement of this 
from day to day was occasioned by the necessity of 
recruiting the strength and spirits of the men, of 
giving time for the officers to discover and study the 
approaches to the weakest points in the city's de- 



THE INVESTMENT 195 

fenses, and of waiting for a favorable opportunity— 
a dark night, stormy, but not too severely cold. 

Montgomery, before joining Arnold, had written a 
letter to his father-in-law, Robert R. Livingston, then 
a member of Congress, which shows a ready compre- 
hension of the problems which would confront him at 
Quebec, and states so clearly the situation he had to deal 
with that part of it may be quoted here, as follows : 

I need not tell you, that, till Quebec is taken, Canada is 
unconquered; and that, to accomplish this, we must resort 
to siege, investment, or storm. The first of these is out of 
the question, from the difficulty of making trenches in a 
Canadian winter, and the greater difficulty of living in 
them, if we could make them; secondly, from the nature 
of the soil, which, as I am at present instructed, renders 
mining impracticable, and were this otherwise, from the 
want of an engineer having sufficient skill to direct the 
process; and thirdly, from the fewness and lightness of our 
artillery, which is quite unfit to break walls like those of 
Quebec. Investment has fewer objections, and might be 
sufficient, were we able to shut out entirely from the garri- 
son and town the necessary supplies of food and fuel, dur- 
ing the winter; but to do this well (the enemy's works 
being very extensive and offering many avenues to the 
neighboring settlements) will require a large army, and 
from present appearances mine will not, when brought 
together, much if at all exceed eight hundred combatants. 
Of Canadians I might be able to get a considerable number, 
provided I had hard money, with which to clothe, feed, and 
pay their wages; but this is wanting. Unless, therefore, 
I am soon and amply reinforced, investment, like siege, 
must be given up. 



196 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

To the storming plan there are fewer objections ; and 
1o this we must come at last. If my force be small, 
Carleton's is not great. The extensiveness of his works, 
which, in case of investment, would favor him, will in the 
other case favor us. IMasters of our secret, we may select 
a particular time and place for attack, and to repel this 
the garrison must be prepared at all times and places, a 
circumstance which will impose upon it incessant watching 
and labor by day and by night, which, in its undisciplined 
state, nnisi breed discontents that may compel Carleton to 
capitulate, or perhaps to make an attempt to drive us off. 
In this last idea there is a glimmering of hope. Wolfe's 
success was a lucky hit, or rather a series of such hits. 
All sober and scientific calculation was against him, until 
Montcalm, permitting his courage to get the better of his 
discretion, gave up the advantages of his fortress, and came 
out to try his strength on the plain. Carleton, who was 
Wolfe's quartermaster-general, understands this well, and, 
it is to be feared, wall not follow the Frenchman's example. 
In all these views, you will discover nuich uncertainty; but 
of one thing you may be sure, that, unless we do some- 
thing before the nuddle of April, the game will be up ; 
because by that time the river may open and let in sup- 
plies and reinforcements to the garrison in spite of any 
thing we can do to prevent it ; and again, because my troops 
are not engaged beyond that term, and will not be pre- 
vailed upon to stay a day longer. 



CHAPTER XIII 

THE ASSAULT IS PLANNED 

On the 16th of December a general council of war 
was held, and the voice of the majority was for storm- 
ing the works as soon as the soldiers were supplied 
with baj^onets, hatchets and hand-grenades. Mont- 
gomery himself seems to have favored the further 
use of the artillery, and had a plan for concentrating 
his fire on a certain point in the north redoubt, which 
was rather inadequately commanded by the guns of 
the garrison. He hoped that by means of parallels a 
very close approach could be made to the ramparts, 
which his cannon would have battered more or less 
to pieces, and saw in this plan the best opportunity 
for a successful assault. The other officers to a man 
opposed his project, and though chagrined at their 
decision, the commander yielded to the unanimous 
judgment. 

The plan of assault which was finally concerted by 
the council was both cunning and desperate, and 
though subsequent events necessitated its abandon- 
ment, it probably had as good a chance of success as 
that finally adopted. Four simultaneous attacks were 
to be made upon the Upper Town at different points 
along the wall between Cape Diamond and Palace 
gate. Three of these were to be mere feints; the 

(197) 



198 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

fourth and real attack was to be an heroic attempt 
to scale the walls at the Cape Diamond bastion, whicli 
tlio English considered im])regnable by reason of the 
defenses wliicli nature had provided there. On the 
night of a severe storm, being much exposed to the 
weather, it might be left with a very small guard. 
The very rashness of such an exploit was its only 
warrant for success. It would be hardly possible to 
sufficiently depress the guns mounted in the bastion 
so as to sweep any enemy from the cliff when once at 
close quarters, and if the bastion was gained and held 
even for a very short time, reinforcements, as they 
ascended, would be sheltered by the declivity, and the 
Americans would hold a vantage point from which 
they could turn the guns of the bastion on the city 
below them. 

Aaron Burr, who had been taken into Montgomery's 
military family, and commissioned a captain, was en- 
thusiastically in favor of this daring scheme, and hav- 
ing obtained permission from Montgomery to select 
and instruct a picked party of fifty men, drilled them 
unceasingly with scaling ladders, till they were able 
to mount with all their accoutrements with great ease 
and rapidity. He was much chagrined, therefore, 
when, owing to the representations of Mr. Edward 
Antill, and Mr. James Price, rebel merchants of Mon- 
treal, the former serving as Montgomery's engineer, 
this first plan was dropped. These gentlemen urged 
that the Lower Town, alone, should be first attempted, 
for they believed it could be taken with much less 
loss of life, and if once occupied, they were satisfied 



THE ASSAULT IS PLANNED 199 

the citizens of Quebec, whose wealth was chiefly there, 
would force Governor Carleton to surrender the 
Upper Town without further bloodshed. It was also 
suggested by some one, though we hope not by an 
American, that after having acquired possession of 
the Lower Town, and having forced the women and 
children, priests and citizens to mingle with the 
American soldiers, they should advance upon the 
Upper Town, in the expectation that the garrison 
would not slaughter the crowd indiscriminately. There 
were barriers, pickets and redoubts in the Lower 
Town to be presently described, which would have to 
be passed before Mountain street and the narrow pass 
to the Upper Town to which it led were reached, and 
unless they were surmounted in this, or some other 
nobler way, the Americans could not hope to long 
continue in possession of the Lower Town. 

The execution of any plan at all was delayed from 
day to day, however, by unfavorable weather, two days 
of heavy snowfall being followed by several days of 
such severe cold that the soldiers could hardly ven- 
ture from their cantonments. Men who were working 
at the batteries had their feet frozen; it was so cold 
that it was not possible to handle metal of any sort, 
and the walls of the city were covered with a glisten- 
ing sheet of ice, which no scaling party, however 
gallant, could surmount. In the midst of this vexa- 
tious delay a fresh discouragement dashed the spirits 
of the army. Smallpox, which had for some time 
been prevalent both within the city and among the 
Canadian peasantry outside the walls, broke out in 



200 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

camp. Five men of Captain Ward's company wlio 
were first stricken witli the disease were taken to the 
General Hospital, Dearborn's company moving their 
quarters from that building to a house just across 
the Kiver St. Charles. But as the malady spread and 
the sick list became menacing in its size, the sufferers 
were all isolated in a camp between Wolfe's Cove 
and Sillery, three miles from their comrades. There, 
without beds, medicine or careful nursing, their con- 
stitutions wrestled stubbornly with the loathsome 
disease. 

As if Montgomery's anxieties were not yet suffi- 
ciently great, they were further augmented b>' dis- 
sension among the officers of Arnold's detachment, 
and by the openly expressed determination of three 
of the New England companies, whose term of enlist- 
ment was to expire on the last day of the year, not 
to remain at Quebec after that date. Captain Hand- 
chett, who, as we have seen, had incurred Arnold's 
rebuke on at least two occasions for failure to perform 
the duty to which he was assigned, seems to have 
been at the bottom of most of the trouble. He, with 
Captains Goodrich and Hubbard and the men of their 
companies, declared that they would not engage in so 
perilous an undertaking as the proposed assault unless 
they were at least withdrawn from Arnold's command. 
Montgomery, as we learn from a letter to General 
Wooster, had scant patience with the malcontents, 
and had his position enabled him to do so, would 
have dealt rigorously with them. But in the weak- 
ened condition of his slender force, stern measures 



THE ASSAULT IS PLANNED 201 

miglit easily prove too drastic. He had recourse to 
diplomacy and succeeded at last in restoring the sem- 
blance of subordination and discipline, though the 
relations between Arnold and his recalcitrant officers 
remained cool, and the New England volunteers re- 
fused to promise the extension of their enlistment. 

Within the city the spirits of the garrison rose, as 
the embarrassments of the besiegers thickened. 
Nearly three weeks of inactivity on the part of the 
Americans had done much to restore the confidence 
of the soldiers and the loyal citizens. The British 
could see that the battery on the plains was shat- 
tered and useless; they had watched the bodies of 
the cannoneers carried off in sleighs; and had it not 
been for the pernicious activity of the riflemen, their 
enemy would have seemed already discomfited. How 
could they have any apprehension of the result of an 
assault? The cold stitfened every sinew, benumbed 
every sense, and made it impossible to execute any 
design which required agility. The ice and snow 
lying on the ways leading to even the weakest places 
in their defenses rendered them very strong. The 
snow-drifts against the ramparts could only be crossed 
on snow-shoes. 

The riflemen, as has been said, were alone su- 
perior to the rigor of the elements. In the face of 
driving snow-storms, or of piercing arctic winds, they 
stood manfully to their posts. From behind walls, 
and from garret windows in St. Roque, from the site 
of '*La Friponne," and from the cupola of the In- 
tendant's Palace (the old palace of Bigot), the un- 



202 ARNOLD'S EXPKDTTIOX TO QUEBEC 

erring bullets of these '' sons of liberty " carried death, 
wounds or dismay to every combatant who was in the 
least rash or incautious. Even at noon they would 
creep close to the houses, which were under cover of 
the hill near Palace gate, till they were within forty 
yards of the walls; then firing through windows, or 
the crevices between the logs of some cabin, at an 
angle of seventy degrees or so, they deliberately 
picked off the sentries for the vei-y ^lovt and excite- 
ment of the thing. The sheltering acclivity which 
favored them continues from the walls around the 
Lower Town (where it is steepest) for many miles up 
the St. Lawrence and St. Charles, and surrounds the 
Plains of Abraham ; near the suburb St. Itoque it is 
called the Cote St. Genevieve. 

The British officers were especially exasperated at 
what they called the ''skulking" tactics of the rifle- 
men, for though a score or more of their sentries were 
thus killed or disabled, it was impossible to inflict 
any punishment in return. Only one of the sharp- 
shooters is reported to have been wounded. He was 
shot through both lungs by a grapeshot, but supported 
by a comrade walked more than a mile to the hos- 
pital. 

Everything now united to convince Montgomery 
that if an assault was to be made with any hope of 
success it must be made at once. The smallpox was 
daily making fresh inroads ui)on his slender effective 
force, and there was barely more than a week left 
before the expiration of the enlistment of the three 
disaffected comijanies in Arnold's corps. Arms and 



THE ASSAULT IS PLANNED 203 

ammunition were distributed to the men, and every 
man was ordered to wear a sprig of hemlock in his 
cap to distinguish him from the enemy, for the 
captured British regimentals in which so many pro- 
vincials were comfortably clad were otherwise likely 
to prove the death of them in the confusion of a 
night assault. The night of the 23d was set for the 
great adventure, but at the last moment another 
annoying postponement was rendered necessary. Dur- 
ing the day Major Caldwell's clerk, Joshua Wolfe, 
who had been detained outside the walls, with the 
assistance of a deserter, one Singleton, a sergeant of 
Montgomery's force, and a bottle of rum judiciously 
used, managed to make his escape, and the two men, 
passing by the way of Wolfe 's Cove and Pres de Ville, 
were admitted to the city at ten o'clock in the even- 
ing. The knowledge of this circumstance caused the 
postponement, for it was correctly surmised that Wolfe 
would probably carry with him information of their 
intentions for that night. It was a prudent decision, 
for Wolfe and Singleton informed the British circum- 
stantially of the preparations which were making, 
adding that ' ' Montgomery had offered his soldiers $800 
plunder each and that he had five hundred clumsy 
scaling ladders prepared. ' ' 

' ' How can they think to pass the ditch weighed 
down with such burdens, and wading in the snow in 
the face of our fire 1 ' ' writes the officer who records 
these items of news. ' ' The enemy reported to be 
about 2,000 ; sickly ; the smallpox among them. ' ' 

Christmas day dawned upon an army still inactive. 



204 AKXOl.D'S KXl'FDTTToX TO QUEBEC 

restless and anxious, liesitatiiiL? at the diffieulties 
wliicli lay helorc it, uneasy at its own weakness, 
daunted by tlie epidemie of smallpox wliicli continued 
to spread through its i-anks. A few w(H'ks he fore, 
Montgojnery, in boastful eoiifidenee, had dechired 
that lie would eat his ('hristmas dinnci- either in 
Quebec or in liell, Neitlier alternative was realized, 
though, o))pressed by tlic increasing perj)le\i(ies of 
his unfortunate i)Osition and cbeered only by a forlorn 
hope of success, he may well have suffered some of 
the ])angs of ]iurgatory. His letters show that he 
was determined to force Congress to acce])t his resig- 
nation as soon as he could with honor do so. These 
extracts from a letter to Schuyler show how hard, 
not to say desperate, he found his situation : 

AYhon last I had the honor to write, I hoped before now 
to liave had it in my power to give yctu some good news. 
I then had I'eason to believe llie troops well inclined For a 
coup-(l(-))iai)i. I have since discovered, to my great morti- 
fication, that three companies of Arnold's detachment are 
very averse to the measure. There is sti'ong reason to 
believe their difference of sentinuMit from the rest of the 
troops arises from the influence of their officers. Captain 
llatulcliett. who lias iiicun-ed Colonel Arnold's dis])leasure 
by some miscontluct, and thereby given room for liarsh 
language, is at the bottom of it, and lias made scmie decla- 
rations which r Ihink iiiusl draw upon him the censure of 
his country, if brought to trial. . . . This dangerous 
party threatens the ruin of our alfaii'S. I shall, at any 
rate, be obliiifd to cliani:e my plan of attack, beinij: too 
weak to ]>ut that in execution that I had formerly deter- 



THE ASSAULT IS PLANNED 205 

mined upon. . . . Strain every nerve to send a large 
corps of troops down the instant the lake is passable. It 
is of the utmost importance we should be possessed of 
Quebec before succor can arrive, and I must here again 
give it to you as my opinion, and that of several sensible 
men acquainted with this province, that we are not to 
expect a union with Canada till we have a force in the 
country sufficient to preserve it against any attempt that 
may be made for its recovery. 

One difficulty occurs to me: How are these troops to 
be paid here? The continental money will not be received 
by the inhabitants. I had distributed part of it to the 
troops at Montreal; few would accept it. The consequence 
was the soldiers offered it for less than its value, and so 
it became depreciated. One scheme has occurred to me, 
which I shall communicate by this opportunity to you and 
our other friends at Montreal. If they can send down to 
the army such articles as soldiers choose to lay out their 
money upon, employing sutlers for that purpose who will 
receive our paper, the troops may then be paid in conti- 
nental currency, which will not be depreciated; the soldiers 
will not grumble, as they may be regularly paid, and, by 
degrees, the inhabitants may acquire confidence in it, seeing 
our merchants take it freely, I am amazed no money has 
arrived. The troops are uneasy, and I shall, by and by, 
be at my wits' ends to furnish the army with provisions. 
I am the more surprised, as I am credibly informed cash 
arrived from Philadelphia at Ticonderoga three weeks since. 
I have almost exhausted Price, having had upwards of five 
thousand pounds, York, from him. I must take this oppor- 
tunity of acknowledging his service. He has been a faithful 
friend to the cause indeed. Having so early reported to 
you my determination to return home, I take it for granted 
measures are taken to supply my place. Should not any- 



20G ARNOLD'S EXPEDITTOX TO QUEBEC 

body arrive shortly for tliat purpose, I must couclude Con- 
^'ress iiicans lo leave llie uiauaj^'-eiiieiit of afVairs in Oeneral 
Wooster's hands; ntid, tlierefore, if Ihis business should 
terminate in a blockade, I shall think myself at liberty to 
return. However, if {)ossible, I shall first make an effort 
foi- the reduction of the town. 

I will shortly comply with several articles of directions 
which I have received from you, and which I deferred in 
hopes of complyinj^ with them, before now, in peaceable 
possession of Quebec. The strange, divided state of the 
troops, all this campaign, has prevented ray sending re- 
turns, having never been able to get one with any tolerable 
exactness. The three discontented companies are within a 
few days of being free from their engagements. I must 
ti-y every means to prevent their departure; and in this 
matter I am much embarrassed. Their ofificers have offered 
to stay provided they may join some other corps. This is 
resentment against Arnold, and will hurt him so much that 
I do not think I can consent to it. 



On the afternoon of Christmas day the troops were 
paraded before Captain ^Morgan's quarters, the house 
of a Mr. Devine, and the General addressed them in a 
very sensible, spirited manner, on the subject of the 
intended attack. He pointed out the necessity of it 
and the certainty of its success, observing that noth- 
ing was wanting to ensure victory but the exercise of 
that valor which they had so trium|)hantly displayed 
under the most unparalleled sufferings. He concluded 
by saying that if they succeeded, they would rescue a 
province from the British yoke, win it for their coun- 
try, and obtain for themselves immortal honor. His 



THE ASSAULT IS PLANNED 207 

address greatly encouraged the men, who replied with 
cheers and expressions of their willingness to follow 
wherever he led. But the New England farmers and 
sailors were anxious to return to their families, and the 
fast approaching opportunity, together with the harsh- 
ness of the service and their fear of smallpox, made 
them so obstinate in their refusal to extend their en- 
listment that Montgomery needed all his powers of 
persuasion, tact and eloquence to keep them on the 
ground. They were almost deaf to all patriotic rep- 
resentations; their enthusiasm for liberty was well- 
nigh frozen to death. The influence of such personal 
magnetism and magnificent courage as that of Mont- 
gomery, Arnold and Morgan, the examples of stead- 
fast patriotism and uncomplaining attention to duty 
set by Hendricks, Lamb and Meigs, alone held them 
together; though there were many who, while they 
anxiously longed to return, had enough of bulldog grit 
and tenacity left to yearn to make one last attempt 
upon the city before retiring discomfited. 

An assault upon such formidable works seemed to 
the officers so exceptionally hazardous that they felt 
it just to the men to learn and weigh their sentiments 
with regard to its advisability. Influenced by the 
spirited words of Montgomery, upon the question be- 
ing put, they voted in the ajEfirmative. The riflemen, 
to whom fighting had become second nature and who 
were more than a thousand miles from their homes, 
were naturally not unwilling to remain with the Gen- 
eral, and gallantly offered to do so, even if he should 
be abandoned by the eastern men. 



208 AKXOLD'S KX I •EDITION TO QUEBEC 

Tlio weather of the 2()t]i did not favor any offen- 
sive o])eratioTis, for it was inconceivably cohj, and no 
man could handle his arms or scale a wall, so the 
promised assault was delayed until the 27th. '*It is 
employment enough to preserve one's nose," writes a 
British officer on duty on the ramparts. " A sentry 
this afternoon had his eyes frozen together, and was 
carried blind into the guard-house." The bitter cold 
continued for several days and made the postpone- 
ment of the attack again and again necessar\^ 

All this time the garrison at Quebec had been 
lying on their arms in momentary expectation of an 
attack. Genei'al Carleton and his officers slei>t at the 
Recollects, the Jesuit College, in their clothes. Three 
nine-pounders were added to the flanks of each 
bastion. At night the soldiers could see many fire 
signals all over the surrounding country, which they 
surmised to be from one guard of Americans to an- 
other. They felt the crisis to be close at hand. 

Were there no weak places in the city's armor? 
Was it not possible for the Americans, like the Greeks 
before Troy, to find another wooden horse and to 
enter, by craft, where they could not force a pass- 
age? Officer after officer had closely examined every 
part of the fortifications, yet no one could devise any 
expedient which gave encouraging i3romise of suc- 
cess. They had even tried to seduce the guards at 
St. John's gate, but had been circumvented by the 
vigilance of Dupre, who had discovered the plot, and 
imprisoned the would-be betrayers. At Pres de Ville, 
by the narrow cart-road, some weakness might before 



THE ASSAULT IS PLANNED 209 

have existed, but it was plain that the enemy had 
diligently strengthened that pass till it was almost 
impregnable. The Americans could see a long line 
of strong wooden pickets, fifteen or twenty feet high, 
knit together by stout railings at the top and bottom, 
wliich extended from the wall of masonry on Cape 
Diamond slantingly down the side of the precipice 
across the cart-road to the brink of the river, where 
it ended at the distance of about one hundred yards 
from the point of the rock. Enormous jagged blocks 
of river ice had been forced one upon the other, high 
up on the bank till they reached this palisade and ef- 
fectually closed any passage around it near the water. 
Within it and only a few yards from the very 
point of the precipice, they knew there was a second 
similar palisade, though it did not run so high up 
the hill. Again, about fifty yards within, and con- 
cealed by the rock, was a blockhouse, which nearly 
filled the narrow space between the foot of the prom- 
ontory and the precipitous bank of the river, leaving 
a footpath only on either side of it. This blockhouse 
was forty or fifty feet square, built of large logs 
neatly squared and dovetailed. The lower story was 
loopholed for musketry and the upper story pierced 
with ports for two cannon mounted within, charged, 
it was not to be doubted, with grape and canister 
and pointed accurately toward the cart-road, where 
it turned the precipice of Cape Diamond within the 
second palisade. At about twenty paces beyond this 
second palisade was the potash factory of a Mr. 
Price, occupied then as a guard-house. Besides the 

14 



210 AKN'OLD'S EXPKDITTON TO (QUEBEC 

cannon in the upper story of the blockhouse, tliere 
were two cannon beliind the second palisade, also cov- 
ering the narrow road, and a filtli, '' drnis une petite 
batisse an bout de la ma'ison," which swe})t the plat- 
form of the i)alisade. 

The obstacles at Sault au Malelot were not less 
formidable and could not be reached without i^assing 
through the suburb St. Roque, along a narrow road 
past Palace gate, close to the St. Charles, within 
shot-gun range of the walls. The attacking force 
would be exposed to a merciless fire of small arms 
and cannon at this close range for nearly half a mile, 
sheltered only by such scattered sheds, storehouses 
and wharves as lined the river, before they reached 
a barrier and battery mounting two twelve-pounders, 
just beyond the precipice of Sault au Matelot. Within 
two hundred yards, closing the western ends of Sault 
au Matelot street and St. Peter's street, they had 
been accurately informed by spies and deserters, was 
another strong barricade about twelve feet high con- 
necting some outbuildings, on the roofs of which 
cannon were mounted, while flanking the two-gun 
batter}^ on the northeast w^as another battery of four 
guns on Lymbourner's wharf, so placed as to com- 
pletely command the guns behind the first barrier. 
The barrier and battery were connected and further 
protected on the east by a guard-house and strong 
palisade. Should the guns of the barrier fall into 
the possession of the attacking i)arty, they could not 
hope to fight them till they had also silenced the 
battery on the wharf. 



THE ASSAULT IS PLANNED 211 

Such was the strength of the fortress to be assaulted 
at night, in the dead of winter, in the face of a gar- 
rison of nearly double their numbers! The extent of 
the works and the hope of a sympathetic uprising of 
the citizens— what else gave the least encouragement 
to the Americans'? 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE ASSAULT ON QUEBEC 

The task wliicli the Americans liad set for them- 
selves—so Arnold had written Washington on Novem- 
ber 20— could not be properly undertaken with less 
than twenty-five hundred men. More than a month 
had elapsed since that letter was written, and the 
garrison of Quebec, reinforced, had well im])roved the 
time in strengthening and rejjairing the fortifications. 
Nevertheless, Montgomery had determined to hazard 
an assault with scarcely one thousand effectives, not 
counting one hundred and sixty Canadians upon whose 
steadfastness he could not rely. But the enlistment of 
the New England trooj^s had now but a day or two 
longer to run, and I\Iontgomery knew that tlie assault 
must be made now or never. The American officers 
watched any indications of the weather with the 
greatest anxietv^, while the rank and file were allowed 
to return to quarters and even given some liberty in 
the farmhouses and tippling shops of the vicinity, 
doubtless from fear that too great strictness of disci- 
])line would breed more rapid desertion; and perhaps 
also to allay the suspicions of the garrison. But it 
was well understood among them that the first snow- 
storm in the early hours of the morning was to be 
the signal for reassembling and for the long-expected 

(212) 



THE ASSAULT ON QUEBEC 213 

attack upon the city. These hours of leisure the sol- 
diers employed in characteristic fashion. It is re- 
corded that several men, who, according to general 
belief, had feigned sickness to avoid military duty, 
had halters placed about their necks, and were driven 
by their more resolute brothers-in-arms with jeers 
and lashes through the camp. 

One by one the precious days, still clear and cold, 
slipped away. The army had undergone its share of 
stormy weather; now, when a cloudy sky was essen- 
tial to its plans, the heavens were exasperatingly 
clear. On the last night of the year the moon rose in 
unclouded splendor over the fortified city and its en- 
virons; its placid light glistened on the snow-covered 
roofs and icy ramparts, and sent broad bands of sil- 
ver across the frozen crust on the Plains of Abraham. 
All was quiet in the direction of the town, except at 
long intervals, when the cries of the sentinels on the 
walls, ' ' All 's well ! ' ' could be distinctly heard. Nor 
was there much movement within the American lines. 
Now and then, when a door of one of the public 
houses in St. Roque opened, the roistering laughter of 
a group of soldiers could be heard, as the light from a 
huge wood-fire flashed on the snow without. In front 
of the Holland house, arrayed in a blanket coat and 
cape, paced a solitary sentinel, who saluted as officers 
passed in and out, and then briskly continued on his 
beat, for it was intensely cold. 

Montgomery, alone in his quarters, strode anx- 
iously to and fro, much agitated, no doubt, by thoughts 
of his terrible responsibility, and of the fleeting hours 



L'14 ARNOLD'S EXPKDlTIOxX TO QUEBEC 

wliieli were rai)idly eiKliiiii^ the enlistment of many of 
his men, most of them doubtless as anxious to return 
to their wives and families as he was to rejoin his 
own dear young wife, so bravely left at his beautiful 
liome on the Hudson. He had bade her adieu say- 
ing, "You shall never blush for your Montgomery!" 
But was his duty i)lain? A refusal to order his men 
to storm the city might well be excused, so des])erate 
was the undertaking. ]\Iany experienced military 
men would unhesitatingly condemn such an attempt 
as mad and criminal; perhaps he would be court- 
martialed for sacrificing his troops in a hopeless 
enter})rise, undertaken without anj^ fair warrant of 
success, contrary to his own recorded judgment. 
Was it true patriotism which animated him? Let 
him examine himself well, lest he fight for personal 
glory, to round out his triumphant career in Canada 
by the capture of this last stronghold of the Crown. 

On the other hand, to raise the siege meant not 
only to lose Quebec, but would soon make it neces- 
sary to evacuate Montreal, and to give up Chambly 
and St. Johns; for, with the breaking of the ice in 
the spring, Quebec would be heavily reinforced, and 
Carleton ready for an aggressive campaign. Then 
the ' ' back door ' ' would be again opened, the British 
would pour in, and the colonies would cry shame 
upon the man who, by one gallant effort, might have 
seized Quebec and turned the tide. Could he not 
foresee the British armies of Burgoyne and St. Le- 
ger on their triumphant march of invasion? Could ho 
divine their blunders? To withdraw now, laid him 



THE ASSAULT ON QUEBEC 215 

open to a charge of cowardice. Was lie only capa- 
ble of easy victories? 

But even as lie despondently dwelt upon his per- 
plexing situation, a cold wind arose and there fell 
the first snow-flakes of a gathering storm. It was 
midnight and the heavens were overcast, the moon 
totally obscured. On this, the last day of the enlist- 
ment of the New England men, the storm, so long 
and impatiently awaited, had come at last! Provi- 
dence pointed toward Quebec. Officers and men 
knew full well what the coming storm signaled, and 
already the tramp of hurrying feet could be heard in 
the narrow village street, as the men left the farm- 
houses where they lodged to join their commands. 
The die was cast; the command given; and the col- 
umns formed for the assault. To replace the sprig 
of hemlock, every man fixed a piece of paper in his 
cap on which he scribbled the device of the riflemen, 
' ' Liberty or death ! ' ' 

The New York regiments and part of Easton's 
Massachusetts militia assembled at the Holland 
house; Arnold's detachment and Lamb's company of 
artillerists at Captain Morgan's quarters; the corps 
of Canadians under Captain James Livingston and 
a small party under Captain Jacob Brown, at their 
respective parade grounds. It is evident from the 
entries in several diaries, as well as from a letter 
from Colonel Campbell, that it was Captain Brown 
of Major Brown's (his brother's) detachment who 
led this party. I think even Mr. Bancroft and Mr. 
Sparks, as well as every other historian whose work 



21G AI^XOLU'S J:X1 'EDITION TO QUEBEC 

has come to ray attention, liave overlooked this fact 
and have not unnaturally credited Major John Brown 
with the leadership. Captain Brown died soon after 
of smallpox hefore Quebec. Major Brown fell in 
action during the war; perhaps this will explain why 
the mistake has not been corrected before tliis time. 

The original daring plan for an assault upon the 
wall of the Upper Town itself had long ago been 
abandoned. The Lower Town was now to be the 
object of the attack. In accordance with the scheme 
devised by the council of war, Arnold's detachment 
was to aj^proach the cit>^ from the General Hosyjital 
through St. Roque, and then to storm the barrier at 
Sault au Matelot; Montgomery's force was to advance 
to the city from the Holland house, descending first 
to AVolfe's Cove, and moving along the beach of the 
St. Lawrence by way of Anse des Meres, to force the 
barrier and palisades on the opposite side of the 
Lower Town at Pres de Ville; then to penetrate into 
the Lower Town through Champlain street. These 
were the important movements upon which Mont- 
gomery relied. Should they succeed, the two divi- 
sions were to press on to the center of the Lower 
Town, where they were to join near the foot of Moun- 
tain street, which led through the narrow picketed 
passage to the Upper Town. 

If victory still attended them, their intention was 
then either to attack the Upper Town at once, to put 
into practice the cowardly suggestion before mentioned 
of massing the women and children, and using them 
as a shield (let us ho]je this project was never seriously 



THE ASSAULT ON QUEBEC 217 

entertained), or to count upon the pressure which the 
citizens might bring to bear upon Governor Carleton 
to surrender. Some unexpected chance might come 
to their aid. Should the Lower Town be gained, while 
they were still unable to force the works leading to 
the Upper Town, they could fire the buildings and 
shipping near them, keeping to the windward. And 
should the enemy sally, in the midst of the dire con- 
fusion which must arise, as the populace, crazed with 
terror, rushed upon the open gate whence the sallying 
party had issued, the Americans, mingled with the 
crowd and concealed by the dense clouds of smoke, 
might force their way, pell-mell, within the walls of 
the Upper Town, driving back the garrison before 
them. 

These were desperate chances, but every chance 
was weighed. Failing in all this, they believed that 
so great an achievement as the taking of the Lower 
Town would greatly encourage the wavering Cana- 
dians, and felt confident that they would hasten to 
aid the victors, and recruit their strength till they 
could assail the Upper Town at so many different 
points at once that the garrison could not adequately 
man the walls. Why should Montgomery expect less 
sympathy in Quebec than in Montreal? Had not Car- 
leton confessed the feebleness of the allegiance of the 
Canadians when he abandoned a city of twelve thou- 
sand inhabitants to defend one of half that number? 
It appears from Montgomery's letters to his wife that 
he had conceived a contempt for the British troops 
and officers then in Canada owing to their conduct 



218 AKXOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

at Moiiti-cal, at ('liaiiihly and at Sorel, and dou])tIess 
thou^ulit they might be seized witli another panic. 
Sliould not his star, so strangely fortunate, reach the 
zenith, even if, like Wolfe, he fell while it shone most 
brightly? 

Further to distract and deceive the cit^^'s defenders, 
Captain Livingston, with his Canadians, was to make 
an attempt to burn St. John's gate, while Captain 
Brown with his i)arty was to make a feigned escalade 
near Cape Diamond bastion. Ensign Knowles with 
a few men was to proceed to Palace gate, and, if pos- 
sible, set it on fire, for which purpose a number of 
boxes of tar and pitch and other combustibles had 
been prepared by Captain Noble. An advance party 
of thirty-five men was to proceed to Drummond's 
wharf, below Cape Diamond; still another advance 
party under Captain Eleazer Oswald w^as to steal 
past Palace gate, and attack the barricade at Sault 
au Matelot street. The St. Roque battery was to 
shell the town. The plan was well thought out, 
could the appearance and attacks of the respective 
advance parties and feigned assaults be absolutely 
simultaneous. For thus the garrison, seemingly as- 
sailed at once in every direction, must be scattered in 
at least five detachments over fortifications nearly 
three miles in extent. Then the full weight of the 
columns of Montgomery and Arnold, suddenly hurled 
in to the support, respectively, of the Drummond 
wharf and Sault au ^^iatelot advance i)arties, were to 
break the ends of the line, and join, as nearly as- 
possible, in the center of the Lower Town. 



THE ASSAULT ON QUEBEC 219 

In Arnold's column there must have been nearly 
six hundred men; in Montgomery's not many more 
than three hundred; with Captain Livingston there 
were between one hundred and fifty and two hun- 
dred, while the men under Captain Brown probably 
numbered from fifty to one hundred. 

As the lines were formed, the officers moved back 
and forth between them, inspecting each man's arms 
and accoutrements. It was now very dark, the storm 
was fully upon them, the wind sending the snow in 
swirls along the road, as it swept in gusts around 
the corners of the houses. It was too cold to keep 
the men long out of doors, except when in motion. 
Very soon, about half -past three o'clock, the order 
came to march, and each column moved to the duty 
assigned to it. The signal for the assault was to be 
three sky-rockets sent up at five o'clock near Cape 
Diamond by Captain Brown. 

Montgomery and Arnold headed their respective 
divisions— Montgomery much against the wishes of 
his officers, who begged him, as their leader, to 
exercise more discretion for the good of all. But 
he was stubborn in his resolution to set a good ex- 
ample for his men, who, he must have felt, would 
need to be led, rather than driven, to such a desper- 
ate undertaking. It certainly was a crisis that de- 
manded that reckless enthusiasm which great personal 
risk on the part of a commanding officer usually 
arouses in his followers. Into such a breach Napoleon 
threw himself at the bridge of Arcole, Berthier at 
Lodi; so did Wolfe and Montcalm venture their lives 



220 AKXOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

on these very Plains of Abraham. Who shall say, 
therefore, that Montgomery should not have trusted 
fortune as did Napoleon, because he met the fate of 
Alontcalm? 

Arnold, with ]\rorgan and Greene beside him, and 
the thirty pickets under Captain Oswald in advance, 
passed silently through the streets of St. Koque, and 
crept forward with the utmost caution along the 
water-front toward the first barrier at Sault au 
Matelot. He was closely followed by his division 
in the following order : 

Morgan's company of Virginians; Lamb's com- 
pany of artillery, with an eight-pound brass field 
])iece on a sled; then the com})anies of Topham, 
Thayer, Ward and Hendricks; Smith's company 
under Lieutenant Steele, and last the companies of 
Goodrich, Handchett and Hubbard. Major Bigelow 
was with Ward's company, and commanded the cen- 
ter; Major Meigs was with Hubbard's company, and 
commanded the rear. Captain Dearborn's company, 
quartered across the St. Charles at j\Ir. Henry's, 
was to join at St. Eoque and to fall in behind Mor- 
gan's company, but Arnold's division having got un- 
der way later than the others, because they failed to 
see the signal rockets, passed through St. Eoque 
nearly a half hour behind time, and noting that the 
tide was up so that Dearborn could not yet cross the 
St. Charles, pressed on without waiting, expecting him 
soon to arrive and drive up the rear. 

Meantime the British officers were watching the 
suburbs St. John and St. Roque and the Plains of 



THE ASSAULT ON QUEBEC 221 

Abraham for any signals of the Americans which 
might mean a movement upon the works, for in- 
formed as they were by deserters that they might 
expect an attack on the first stormy night, they had 
now every reason to think that the conditions prayed 
for by the Americans had been granted. As Captain 
Malcolm Fraser of the Royal Emigrants, who that 
night commanded the main guard in the Upper Town, 
was going his rounds, and had passed the guard at 
the gate St. Louis, about five o'clock in the morn- 
ing he saw the three sky-rockets spring into the air 
from the heights without the works at Cape Diamond. 
Surmising at once that this was the signal for the 
assault, he hurried notice to all the guards, and ran 
down St. Louis street, shouting, ' ' Turn out, turn 
out!" His cry was heard by General Carleton and 
his staff at the Recollects, who instantly sprang to 
arms. Captain Fraser ordered the alarm-bell rung, 
while the drums of his guard beat to arms. Within 
a few minutes most of the garrison were at their 
alarm-posts, every person able to bear arms was in 
motion, even old men upwards of seventy, and before 
long all the bells of the city were clamoring forth 
the alarm. All the British sentries between Cape 
Diamond and Palace gate now reported many repeated 
flashes like lightning, and at regular distances, on 
the Heights of Abraham, lights which seemed to be 
lanterns placed on poles. A few moments later a 
heavy and hot fire was opened upon the ramparts 
by a body of men posted behind a rising ground 
within eighty yards of the wall at Cape Diamond. 



•2.12 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

By tlie flashes of their muskets their heads could be 
seen though their bodies were covered. 

The head of Arnold's column had by this time 
silently picketed in past Palace gate, and even be- 
yond the Hotel Dieu without being discovered. It 
was still veiy dark. The storm had become almost 
a blizzard. A cutting northeast wind blew the fine 
particles of snow into the men's faces, half blinding 
them, so that they were obliged to bend under the 
blast and move faithfully in the footsteps of their 
leaders, filled and concealed, almost as soon as made, 
by the fast-falling snow. They protected the jjans of 
their flintlocks as well as they could under the skirts 
or lapels of their woollen blanket coats, but the snow 
catching on the rough surface was soon melted by the 
heat of their bodies, and most of their muskets and 
rifles were soon rendered useless. The ice from the 
St. Charles forced up in great blocks against the 
roadside occasioned deep snow-drifts and narrowed the 
passage beneath the walls so much that the column 
had to break into files in order to advance rapidly. 
There were many warehouses, sheds, and wharves 
scattered along the river, and ice-bound small craft 
were moored to them by ropes and hawsers. 

Suddenly from the direction of St. John's gate and 
Cape Diamond faint reports of small arms smothered 
by the storm, followed by thundering detonations of 
artillery, broke the stillness, and a few moments after- 
wards the first shot from a sentry on the walls warned 
them that they were discovered. It was followed by 
another and another, till a storm of bullets from the 



THE ASSAULT ON QUEBEC 223 

muskets of the sailors under cover of the pickets 
behind the Hotel Dieu and Montcalm's house swept 
their narrow path. Many of Arnold's men fell under 
this fire. Fire balls, hurled frequently from the ram- 
parts, illuminated the spaces of open road between the 
buildings, across which the Americans had to rush, 
encumbered as they were, not only with scaling lad- 
ders, but also with long pikes or spontoons for the 
escalade of the barrier. At every disadvantage, they 
could neither see their enemy nor tell in which direc- 
tion to return the fire, except as they might guess 
from the flashes of flame which spurted from every 
loophole in the towering walls, while the British, not 
fifty yards distant, secure in casemates and sheltered 
from the storm, picked them off as they ran past. 

Beneath the pickets behind the Hotel Dieu, a mus- 
ket bullet from the wall shattered Arnold's leg and 
stretched him, bleeding profusely, in the snow. It 
had been his intention to order the small advance 
party to open first a musketry fire on the barrier and 
then, while Morgan and his company stole around the 
end *of the barrier on the ice, to open to the right 
and left and permit Captain Lamb to bring up the 
field piece and occupy the enemy's attention till Mor- 
gan had time to take them by surprise in the rear. 
Arnold's wound, and the delay in bringing up the 
field piece owing to the difficulties of the road, neces- 
sitated a hurried change of plan at a critical moment. 
In a short and hasty consultation it was agreed that 
Morgan should assume the command, though Greene 
was his ranking officer, for Morgan had seen service, 



224 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

and this was the first time the three field officers, 
Greene, Bigelow and Meigs, had been under fire. The 
Keverend Mi". Spring, a figliting i)arson, with a sol- 
dier of j\Iorgan's company, sii})))OJ'ted Arnold on the 
long and ])ainful journey back to the General Hospi- 
tal, while ]\Iorgan, gathering about him his Virginians, 
and backed by a few of the most daring officers and 
men, who had ]n'essed on to the head of the column, 
dashed around the ]:>recipice of Sault au ]\Iatelot 
directly u]ion the first barrier. 

So comi)letely had the British been taken by sur- 
prise in this quarter, that the firing to the north of 
Sault au Matelot deadened by storm, had just aroused 
the guard of about thirty Englishmen under Captain 
Mc('loud, half drunk with healths to the new year. 
Accustomed to such sounds by the frequent false 
alarms of the past two weeks, they started with reluc- 
tance to leave their comfortable shelter in the guard- 
house, to join the solitary sailor who was on guard 
near the tw^o twelve-pounders on a platform a few 
yards behind the barrier. The Americans, led by 
Morgan with a Canadian guide, yelling like demons of 
the storm, dashed upon the barrier, and before the 
guard heard the sentry's cry, were sweeping over it 
and rushing upon the platform and wharf battery, 
which was flanked by houses on either side. Neither 
courage nor presence of mind deserted the plucky 
sailor; having no slow-match, he discharged his gun 
into the vent of one of the cannon, and its charge of 
grape burst with a roar in the very face of the Ameri- 
cans. It killed the Canadian guide, but, being aimed 




0. 



(A I' TAIN l>AMi;i. M<)i;<iA\ 
Alliiuur.ls Maj.irfictiirnl I . S, A. ami Mciiibcr of Coiigiess 



THE ASSAULT ON QUEBEC 225 

too high, hurt no one else. In an instant the Ameri- 
cans had their ladders against the barrier which im- 
mediately covered the two guns. 

Morgan, seeing the foremost soldier hesitate, pulled 
him down and springing upon the ladder, mounted 
first of all, crying in terrific tones, ' ' Follow me, boys ! ' ' 
As his head appeared above the barrier, the whole 
guard fired at him from within. So close were his 
enemies, and so charmed this man's life, that one 
ball passed through his cap, another grazed the left 
side of his face, cutting off a lock of his hair, while 
fire scorched him and grains of powder were im- 
bedded in his face. The concussion was so great as 
to knock him from the top of the ladder into the 
snow beneath. For a moment the assailants were 
checked. But the gallant frontiersman was instantly 
on his feet again, and had recommenced ascending 
the ladder. A wild cheer of admiration rose from 
his men as they followed his example. As Morgan 
leaped over the wall he landed on the muzzle of one 
of the cannon, falling thence on the platform under 
the gun. Luckily the accident saved him from a 
dozen bayonets of the guard, which were presented 
at his breast. In that single second of delay the en- 
sign of his company, Charles Porterfield, Lieutenant 
Heth and others, as fast as there was room to jump 
down, followed and saved him. Once more on his 
feet, though severely bruised on the knee, he was able 
to direct his followers to fire into the guard-house, 
from the windows of which the retreating guard were 
firing, and to follow up with pikes and bayonets. 

15 



22(; ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

This they did with a will, killing the sailor sentry with 
their pikes before he could reach his comrades, and 
driving the guard through the house into the street. 

Aroi-gan, with C^a]»tain Thayer and others, rushed 
on through a sally port at the end of the platform 
and around the corner of the house, and met the re- 
treating guard as they fled before the oncoming pro- 
vincials. The gigantic rifleman, shouting to them to 
lay down their anns or receive no quarter, advanced 
upon them to make good his word. The guard threw 
down their arms and surrendered. Stoi)])ing only long 
enough to stack their wet guns and exchange them for 
the dry and better arms of the captured guard, Mor- 
gan's men, with bayonets fixed, poured up the narrow 
street of Sault au ]\Iatelot, taking prisoner everybody 
who opposed them. But they had not advanced more 
than two hundred yards before they perceived another 
barrier and battery, which api)eared to close the fur- 
ther end of the street, here not more than twenty feet 
wide, and it was deemed prudent to halt and await 
the arrival of reinforcements before assaulting it. 

The fighting up to this time had been done chiefly 
by Morgan's Virginians and fragments of some of the 
other leading companies. While they waited, Morgan, 
adopting some disguise and attended only by an in- 
terpreter, made his way, according to his own account, 
almost to the Upper Town, ''to see what was going 
on," He returned and called a council of officers, to 
whom he related that the sally port of the second bar- 
rier was standing open, that its guard had deserted it, 
and that ' ' people were running from the Upper Town 



THE ASSAULT ON QUEBEC 227 

in whole platoons, giving themselves up as prisoners, 
to get out of the way of the confusion," and that he 
had found no one in arms to oppose them. 

But the Americans had already more prisoners than 
they knew what to do with. Captain Thayer accounted 
them to be nearly one hundred and fifty— almost as 
numerous as their captors, whose comrades, having 
lost their way in the crooked streets, were coming up 
very slowly. Furthermore, Morgan's orders were to 
await Montgomery here. But Montgomery did not 
come. The golden moments of victory were flying. 
It was urged that if they advanced further they would 
do so contrary to orders; that their prisoners might 
break out and turn the battery they had just taken 
upon them and cut off their retreat; that Montgomery 
was certainly coming down the St. Lawrence Eiver 
and would join them in a few moments, so that if 
they acted with caution and prudence, they were sure 
of conquest. To this reasoning Morgan reluctantly 
yielded his own opinion, and it was agreed to remain 
where they were until Morgan had gone back over the 
ground they had covered, to bring up Bigelow and 
Meigs with men from the center and rear to guard the 
captured barrier, and augment their strength. 

After Morgan left them, his men sought cover 
where they could behind the houses, in them, or in 
the doorways, but the British and French were more 
familiar with the ground, and often gained points 
from which they picked off the Americans even within 
the houses. Ensign Porterfield found himself in a 
room with Lieutenants Bruen and Cleek and seven or 



228 AKWOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

eii^ht inoTi ; two of his compaiiioiis wi'ie killed outrig^ht 
beside him. Some of the Americans who disdained 
any sort of i)rudenee, and were iiear enongli to the 
enemy to reach them with their voices, seized tliis lull 
to challenge them from the o])en street to come 
out and do honest battle. But the enemy discreetly 
chmg to their defenses. Those in some of the houses 
l)ointed the muzzles of tlieir firearms from the win- 
dows, while they screened themselves entirely behind 
the window frames, and fired into the street at ran- 
dom. The Americans, jeering and laughing, re- 
sponded as blindly by emptying their rifles in at 
these same windows, creeping up under the sills for 
the purpose. As no one dared to show his head 
above the barrier at the end of the street, it was even 
possible for a few of the Americans, by a quick rush, 
to get so close to it that the British could not dis- 
lodge them, and these men succeeded by discharging 
their pieces through the portholes in preventing the 
service of some of the guns behind the barricade. 

Meanwhile the feints of Livingston and Brown 
along the wall of the Upper Town had not been wholly 
without effect. To the British, the city had seemed 
to be assailed at ever^^ point, the noise of their own 
guns and musketry helping to produce the impres- 
sion. Other quarters had been reinforced; this of 
Sault au Matelot had been neglected. But Living- 
ston's Canadians only too well acted out their reputa- 
tion for unreliability and cowardice, and as soon as 
the firing became heavy, took to their heels and no 
longer figured in the conflict. 



CHAPTER XV 
THE DEATH OF MONTGOMERY 

But what had been the fortune of Montgomery's 
attack at Pres de Ville? What was the meaning of 
the ominous delay in the appearance of the support- 
ing force which was to have completed the work so 
well begun by Morgan's brave fellows at the northern 
end of the townf These were questions which must 
have been asked with ever-increasing anxiety by the 
men huddled inactive in the storm-beaten streets of 
Sault au Matelot, as they saw the precious moments 
slipping fast away, and still had no tidings from 
their general, who should by this time have been 
thundering at the gates of the Upper Town. 

Montgomery had found much the same obstacles 
in his way along the St. Lawrence that Arnold had 
on the St. Charles. The ice forced up by the high 
winter tides, and the immense snow-drifts (for the 
snow on a level was from four to six feet deep), 
would have impeded his troops even in the strong 
light of day; now, in the darkness and the storm, 
they were efficient allies of the British. The column, 
consisting of the 1st, 2d and 3d battalions of New 
York troops, was so broken and delayed that Mont- 
gomery and his Canadian guide, marching at the 
head of a straggling line for a mile and a half or 

(229) 



230 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

two miles from Wolfe's Cove, along the narrow ])atli- 
way under the cliffs, close to the riverside, did not 
reach the first palisade at I^res de Ville till some time 
after Livingston and J^rown had aroused the garrison 
of the Upper Town. 

The guard at Pres de Ville, which was under Cap- 
tain Chabotte of the French-Canadian artillery and 
consisted of thirty Canadians and eight British militia- 
men, with nine British seamen to work the guns, had 
seen the flashlights on the Plains of Abraham. Eveiy 
man was posted before the alarm was given, and the 
sailor cannoneers commanded by Captain Barnsfare, 
master of the transport Tell, and directed by Hugh 
McQuarters, a trusty sergeant of the Royal Artillery, 
with lighted matches, stood waiting for the word of 
command. The good fortune of Arnold's men who 
had been able to take by sui'prise the unready guard 
at the Sault au IMatelot, w^as thus denied to the com- 
mander-in-chief. 

At length some two hundred men— two-thirds of 
his force— had come up, and Montgomery, cautiously 
approaching the palisade, superintended a party of 
carpenters, who succeeded without discovery in sawing 
out four of the great wooden ]iickets of which the 
palisade was built. At the point where this was done, 
they were close to the precipice, the angle of which 
screened them from the view of any sentinel in the 
blockhouse on the other side of the angle, about one 
hundred and thirty paces from the first palisade. 
They were also concealed in part by the second pali- 
sade, some twenty paces within the first, which, it will 



THE DEATH OF MONTGOMERY 231 

be remembered, ran nearly parallel with it, but not 
so high up the precipice, which was so steep here as 
to be practically impassable in itself. 

Much encouraged, moving noiselessly in the new- 
fallen snow, the carpenters reached the second pali- 
sade, where they were soon again at their dangerous 
work, well up on the precipice. Montgomery, joined 
now by his aids, John McPherson and Aaron Burr, 
nervously watched the workmen until they had two 
or three of the pickets down. Then the group of 
officers quickly slipped through the opening and stood 
for a moment in consultation under the last sheltering 
point of the rockj^ cliff, t© turn which was almost cer- 
tain death. 

The Canadian guide, Edward Antill the engineer, 
and Montgomery's orderly sergeant also passed through 
the opening, as did Captain Jacob Cheeseman, followed 
by some of the leading men of his and Mott's com- 
panies, while the other troops were crowding up in the 
narrow pass. Impatient at the slowness of the work, 
Montgomery laid hands on the pickets himself, while 
one of the party slipped around the point of rock 
to discover, if he could, what reception they might 
expect. The explorer returned at once and doubtless 
reported that the post seemed alarmed; for immedi- 
ately Montgomery, with the shout, ' ' Push on, brave 
boys ; Quebec is ours ! ' ' sprang forward, closely fol- 
lowed by his staff and as many men as could crowd 
through the narrow opening which the carpenters had 
made. On the instant a storm of canister and grape 
from Barnsf are's cannon swept the narrow pass, and 



232 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

as fast as the sailors could withdraw and recharge, 
the murderous liail i)elU'd tlie precipice, tlie ])alisade 
and the cart-road below. 

Montgomery, shot through the head and botii 
thighs, Cheeseman, MePherson, the orderly sergeant, 
Desmarais the Canadian guide, and eight other brave 
fellows lay dead and dying, and the long column of 
Americans, like a snake whose head has been sud- 
denly crushed, recoiled on itself, writhing in a panic 
of dismay and confusion. For a few moments the 
stri Idling i^urr struggled to animate the trooi)s, already 
turned in flight, but Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell, 
commanding their rear, unequal to the emergency, 
hastily gave the command to retire, an order all too 
readily obeyed by his demoralized men, who carried 
with them some, though not all, of the wounded. 
Many of the Canadian and British guards and can- 
noneers were seized with a like panic, and, deserting 
their posts, fled to the center of the town. Finding 
they were not pursued, they soon recovered, manned 
their guns again and with those who had stood fast, 
continued to sweep the pass with grape and canister 
for some minutes after the Americans had retreated. 
When they ceased firing they could plainly hear the 
groans and cries of the poor fellows who had fallen, 
but no other sounds except the dismal howling of the 
storm; as they peered through the black night, they 
saw nothing save the driving snow and sleet, fast 
weaving a funeral shroud for the heroic dead. Even 
the outcries of the wounded soon ceased, and confident 
that they had repulsed the rebels, they were cheering 



THE DEATH OF MONTGOMERY 233 

lustily, when an old woman appeared among them, 
breathless, with the news that Arnold had taken the 
barrier at Sault an Matelot, and would immediately 
attack their rear. Panic prevailed once more. Some 
hid their weapons; others hurled them into the river. 
Then John Coffin, a loyalist volunteer, who with his 
family had sought the town as a refuge, drew his 
bayonet, sprang into the midst of the faint-hearted, and 
swore he would kill the first man who turned his 
back. His courage and Bamsf are's coolness pre- 
vailed; the cowards returned to duty, and those who 
were steadfast swung the guns about and waited. 

News of the disaster at Pres de Ville did not reach 
Morgan's and Arnold's men; indeed, they received no 
tidings whatever of Montgomery. When Morgan 
reached the outskirts of the Lower Town, he found 
Colonel Greene and Major Meigs with about two hun- 
dred of the New England troop, who immediately 
pushed forward under his guidance to the first bar- 
rier, where they made prisoners of a number of young 
fellows, students it is said, who were but now hurry- 
ing to their alarm posts at Sault au Matelot street. 
The reinforcements were hurried forward to where 
their comrades still waited under the shadow of the 
second barrier, and it was determined in spite of 
Montgomery's disquieting delay to advance at once 
upon this barricade which closed the entrance to 
Mountain street, and therefore barred the way to the 
Upper Town. It is hard to see why Morgan had not 
ordered this movement long before, since by his own 
statement the sally port stood open when the Ameri- 



234 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

cans first a])])eared l)oforo it. It is a jioor answer to 
say that he had reached the position where lie was 
ordered to wait for Montgomery, and that to liave 
continued to advance was to disol)ey orders. Never 
was obedience or bhinder, whichever it is to be called, 
more fatal, for the British having established the true 
character of the attacks of Livingston and Brown 
u]:)on the Upper Town, and having re])ulsed ]\ront- 
gomery, were free to deal with their more successful 
antagonists at Sault au Matelot. 

The Americans hurriedly formed in the narrow 
street and, led once more by ]\Iorgan, rushed cheer- 
ing u]:>on the barrier; but now they found it occupied, 
and its defenders, who were chiefly Canadian militia 
under Colonel Voyer and Captain Alexandre Dumas, 
checked them with a heavy fire from the houses on 
either side of the barrier and with cannon elevated 
beyond the barrier in the second story of a house on 
the opposite side of the lower end of Mountain street. 
Every bullet falling in the crowded ranks confined in 
so narrow a space (for here Sault au Matelot street 
was only about twenty feet wide) did execution, and 
the Americans failed to get their ladders up before 
the Canadians were further reinforced by Captain 
Maroux and a few Royal Fusileers under Captain 
Owen. 

Captain Anderson, a retired lieutenant of the 
]\oyal Navy, sallying from the barrier, as the pro- 
vincials fell back, met Morgan in the street again 
advancing and summoned him to surrender. The 
fierce Virginian, furious at his repulse, and raging 



THE DEATH OF MONTGOMERY 235 

like a lion that has tasted blood, seized a rifle from 
one of his men and shot Anderson through the head. 
The unfortunate officer's men stood only long enough 
to drag his body within the barrier and close the 
sally port, and a general melee and assault on the 
barrier began. 

But the Americans were again handicapped; the 
ladders they had were those brought by Morgan's 
men and were too few in number to enable many to 
scale the barrier at once. Further, while they had 
stood inactive in the storm, the arms taken from 
McCloud's guard had, in turn, been wet by the melt- 
ing snow and were useless, except as clubs. Lieu- 
tenant Humphries and a few men succeeded in erect- 
ing a mound, planted a few ladders, and with Morgan, 
Hendricks, Steele, Heth, Porterfield, Cooper, Thomas, 
Thayer and Topham made a desperate attempt to 
scale the barrier. But Humphries fell back dead, 
shot through the head and body, and a score of men 
went down with him. Lieutenant Cooper of Connec- 
ticut was also killed outright. 

The British had now manned the guns on an 
elevated platform behind the barrier, and a single 
cannon in a house on the side of the street, and 
delivered a front and enfilading fire of grape. Noth- 
ing human could stand beneath it and the constant 
rain of musket bullets. Lieutenant Joseph Thomas 
was killed, two fingers of Lieutenant Steele's hand 
were shot away, Captain Lamb of the artillery, who 
long ago had been ordered to abandon his field piece 
on account of the impassability of the road, had the 



226 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITIOX TO QUEBEC 

left side of his faco carried away hy a .li^i-apo-sliot. 
lie ie(|iiest('(l Lieutenant Xieliols to bind up tlie 
wound with a l)laek liandkerchief wliieli he took 
from his stock, and attempted to continue in action. 
The cliief Sahattis was sliot throuj^h tlie wrist; ]>ri- 
gade-Major Ogden in the shoukler; Cai)tain Topham, 
Lieutenant Tisdale and Connnissary Taylor were also 
wounded. ('ai>tain Hubbard had been ci"ipi)led by 
a shot which broke his ankle, but he refused to be 
moved under cover, exclaiming to his would-be 
bearers, "I came here to serve with you; I will stay 
here to die with you!" Lamb lay unconscious in the 
open street. 

The volleys of nmsketry from the second barrier 
in their front and from the high bank and wall close 
on their left, with the cross-fire from a com])any of 
French loyalists on Lymburner's wharf, rendered the 
position of the Americans a fearful one. The battle- 
scythe of death steadily swept the street from side 
to side. The blood-stained snow, trodden by the 
hurrying tramp of many feet; the corpses piled in 
heaps beneath the barrier; the cries of the combat- 
ants and the groans and screams of the wounded as 
they struggled from the deep snow^-drifts, and en- 
deavored to crawl to the doorways for shelter; the 
crashing of broken glass which followed every lieaA^y 
detonation of artilleiy or announced the passage of 
those bullets which sought their living targets within 
the houses; over all the lowered canopy of heaven, 
the howling of the storm, and driving snow, made a 
sickening scene of horror and confusion. 



THE DEATH OF MONTGOMERY 237 

The assailants were at last compelled to seek shel- 
ter in the stone houses on either side of the street, 
but it was not until nearly four score of their number 
lay dead or desperately wounded along a few hundred 
yards of Sault au Matelot street, after it turns the 
precipice towards the center of the town. It was now 
the turn of the British to suffer, for the Americans 
had an opportunity to dry and reprime their firelocks ; 
and, all being sharpshooters, they repeatedly cleared 
the platform of gunners, till its guns were all silenced 
and fifteen or twenty of their enemies had felt their 
vengeance. But their fire from the windows was re- 
turned with interest, for reinforcements under Major 
Caldwell now reached the British, who used the loop- 
holes of the barrier and the houses on their side of it 
for cover. Nor were the British bad marksmen. Cap- 
tain Hendricks, while aiming his rifle from a window, 
was shot through the heart, and staggering back a 
few steps he fell dead across a bed. 

At this moment, while the firing was slackened be- 
cause both sides were sheltered in comparative safety 
behind walls of wood or stone, a Canadian militiaman, 
one Charland, an ex-convict, a huge fellow of great 
strength and dauntless courage, was seen to spring 
upon the barrier. In the face of a storm of bullets, 
he succeeded in dragging within the palisade one of 
the precious scaling ladders, which was still attached 
to the barrier. The British saw their advantage. 
Ensign Dambourges and Major Nairn, availing them- 
selves of the ladder obtained by Charland, and fol- 
lowed by Captain Campbell, Ensign Cairns and Lieu- 



238 Al^NOT.D'S KXI'KDTTTON TO QUEBEC 

tenant Layard, climbed tlirouj^li a window in the 
ga])le end of a house on the rel)el side of the barrier. 
A hand-to-hand strn<::^le ensued to the advantage of 
the British, who drove baclv their opponents as they 
were about to enter the door on Sault au ]\ratelot 
street, and gained a commanding position from which 
to fire into the street. 

]\rorgan, with a few of the bravest of the brave, 
standing in the open street, had called again and 
again upon those within the houses to join him and 
to make another attempt on the barrier, while the 
guns of the ])latform were silent. But it was useless. 
So, ordering the few officers he had left to the shelter 
of the houses, he made his way to the first barrier, 
accompanied only by Lieutenant Heth, in order to 
concert with Meigs and Bigelow some plan for draw- 
ing off the troops. These officers agreed with him 
that they must immediately retreat. Lieutenant Heth 
was accordingly sent back on the dangerous errand 
of urging the men in the houses to abandon their 
shelter and risk death in the open in an attempt to 
reach the first barrier. Heth bravely executed his 
orders, but succeeded in inducing very few of the 
men to take their chances with him. A\'hile they 
wasted precious moments in indecision, their oppor- 
tunity was lost. 

We must now ask the reader to return with us to 
Dearborn's company, which, it will be remembered, 
was cantoned on the further side of the St. Charles, 
and had failed to join Arnold's detachment in time 
to take part in the assault. It appears that the 



THE DEATH OF MONTGOMERY 239 

sergeant-major, whose duty it was to notify Captain 
Dearborn of the hour of attack, had been pre- 
vented from crossing the river by the exceedingly 
high tide. At four o'clock Dearborn heard by 
chance, through one of his men, that the attack had 
been ordered for that morning. He at once gave 
orders for his men to prepare to march, but as his 
company was quartered in three different houses and 
the farthest was a mile from his own quarters, it 
was nearly an hour before he was ready, and the 
cannonade announced that the attack was begun 
before he started. 

They had nearly two miles to march. On the way 
they met the sergeant-major, who informed them that 
Arnold's column had moved on. Crossing the St. 
Charles and advancing at double-quick time, they met 
Arnold, wounded, in St. Roque; he told them that his 
men had possession of a four-gun battery and would 
soon carry the town. The battery of St. Roque was 
playing incessantly, the garrison replying with shot 
and shell from apparently every part of the town. 
Dearborn's men were in high spirits and pushed for- 
ward as fast as possible. They soon began to meet 
numbers of wounded men, and almost immediately 
came under a very brisk fire from the walls and stock- 
ades. In the heavy storm and darkness, without a 
leader or guide who was in the least familiar with the 
locality, the men were soon bewildered, and although 
they met several officers and men who said they knew 
where the division was, yet none of them would act 
as guides. Dearborn accordingly thought it best to 



240 ARNOLD'S EXPEDTTTOX TO QUEBEC 

rclivat a short distance and make a new attempt to 
find tlio way. Ho aeeordiiijj^ly ordered Lieutenant 
lluli'liins, who was in the I'ear, to retire a few rods. 
Hutchins obeyed, altliough in retreating lie ran con- 
siderable risk from the fire of a i)icket within a stone's 
throw, for it had now begun to grow light. 

Carleton, advised of the perilous predicament of 
Dearborn's comi')any, and bent on ])reventing their re- 
inforcement of Morgan, ordered a sally of a column of 
men under Captain Laws, who immediately advanced 
with two field pieces from Palace gate. Captain Mc- 
Dougal of the Eoyal Emigrants followed closely with 
a party from his regiment; then Captain Alexander 
Fraser with another su])porting party. Captain Hamil- 
ton, of the Lizard, and a party of sailors, brought up 
the rear. The column was two hundred strong. Be- 
fore Dearborn's men discovered this movement, the 
sallying party had taken possession of some houses 
which Hutchins had to pass, and as he fell back, 
rushed down upon his little party from a lane. On 
perceiving their ai)proach, Dearborn divided his com- 
pany in the middle and leaving half under the com- 
mand of Lieutenant Hutchins, made another attempt 
to find the main body, for it was now so light that 
he thought he stood a better chance of doing so. 
Ordering those who were with him to follow, he ran 
on, but the enemy captured some of his men in the 
rear and opened a brisk fire upon the rest from the 
houses which they had to pass. As soon as Dearborn 
reached a place where he could cover his men, he 
halted them while he attem]^ted to establish the posi- 




CAI'IAIN DKAPJioKN 
Afterwanl Major-CeiiiTul \ . S. A., .Miiii>lir Ic. I'nrtu-;il. Mi'inbcr of Congress. 

ami Scciclary ol' \\ iir 
By (■(iiirl'sij of Ihe Ciiliiiiirl Cliih i,{ Chiiitij,,. I'nnn tin Diiijiiial /.(iiliail by Sliinrl 



THE DEATH OF MONTGOMERY 241 

tion of the main body, for a shout was heard in the 
town which convinced him that the Americans were 
in possession. 

The fact that the besieged and their assailants 
wore substantially the same uniform now worked to 
the disadvantage of the Americans. In the uncertain 
light Dearborn could not feel sure whether the men 
in front of him, who seemed to be numerous, were 
British or Americans. His own words at this juncture 
are too graphic to omit : " I was just about to hail 
them, when one of them hailed me. He asked who I 
was (I was now within a few rods). I answered, 'a 
friend.' He asked me 'who I was a friend to.' I 
answered, ' a friend to liberty. ' He then replied, ' Gr— 
d— you,' and raised himself partly above the picket. 
I clapt up my piece, which was charged with a ball 
and ten buckshot, certainly to give him his due, but 
to my mortification my gun did not go off; I new- 
primed her and flushed and fired her again, but 
neither I, nor one in ten of my men, could get off 
their guns, they being so exceedingly wet." 

Dearborn ordered his men into the houses to new- 
prime their guns or prick dry powder into the touch- 
holes; but the enemy closed in upon them and Dear- 
born soon found himself outnumbered six to one, his 
company divided and his arms in bad condition, so 
that, being promised good quarters and tender usage, 
he surrendered. But before doing so he told his men 
to make their escape if possible. In the confusion 
some of them succeeded, several even after they had 
given up their arms. At the same time one division 

16 



242 AKXOI.D'S FXT'F.I )TTTOX TO QT'EBEC 

of the sallying i)ai'ty ijouiiced upon 11 lo Ijallciy in St. 
l\0(ino and (•oni})l('t('d the discoinfituie of the provin- 
cials by c'ai)turing all the guns and dragging them 
victoriously into Quebec. 

The main body of Cai)tain Laws's force, however, 
after having captured Dearborn's com])any, closed in 
on the rear of the Americans under Morgan. It was 
now long i)ast six o'clock and the morning light was 
breaking, though the fast-falling snow ol)Scured its 
disclosures. Morgan and his few remaining officers, 
ignorant even of this misfortune, now held another 
consultation, and Morgan advised that they cut their 
way out, but this proposition was overruled, in the 
hope that Montgomery might still be heard from and 
for fear that he might need their cooperation. They 
resolved to maintain their position at the first barrier 
a short time longer. Their comrades in the houses 
along Sault au Matelot street were still keeping up a 
desultory fire, which was answered by the British in 
much the same manner, but it was very evident that 
the end was near. 

At this moment Captain Laws, whose zeal had 
carried him far beyond his men, sprang into the 
midst of the American officers, and demanded their 
surrender, upon which they promptly disarmed 
him, much to his chagrin. But his men, headed by 
]\rcDougal, soon appeared, and at length the whole 
disi)Osable force of the garrison surrounded the Amer- 
icans. The cannon of the sallying party, brought up 
through St. Charles to Sault au Matelot street in the 
rear, threatened the houses they occupied, and upon 



THE DEATH OF MONTGOMERY 243 

being summoned, the disappointed and exhausted 
Americans, except a few of their number, who in 
company with most of the Indians had hazarded an 
escape across the ice on the Bay of St. Charles, sur- 
rendered. The French and English soldiery then 
rushed in among them for the prize of the officers' 
side-arms. Some of the Americans threw down their 
arms from the doors and windows of the houses they 
occupied, others presented the butts of their muskets, 
while a few hid themselves in attics and cellars. 

Morgan, crying like a child with vexation and 
anger, backed against a wall and, sword in hand, 
dared any one of the enemy to come and take the 
weapon. In spite of the threats of his enemies and 
the entreaties of his own men not to sacrifice his life 
uselessly, he persisted in his determination. None 
took up his gage. At length, noticing a priest 
among the crowd, he delivered his sword to him, 
saying, ' ' Then I give my sword to you ; but not a 
scoundrel of these cowards shall take it out of my 
hands ! ' ' 

The prisoners were conducted to the Upper Town, 
where the officers, after a good meal, with wine, at 
the main guard-house, were confined in the Seminary 
of Laval, and the non-commissioned officers and 
privates in the Jesuits College (The Recollects). 
They now first learned of the repulse of their second 
column at Pres de Ville and the complete discom- 
fiture of their comrades, though the British them- 
selves were still ignorant that Montgomery was among 
the killed. 



244 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

A scouting party of militia sent out sliortly after 
daylight over the ground near tlie palisades at Cape 
Diamond had at first seen nothing, owing to the 
deep snow, for it had fallen all night. At length 
they noticed a stiffened ann protruding, and pushing 
away the snow they found a frozen corpse, then an- 
other, and another. Shuddering women who had 
been driven from their beds by the volleys from 
Barnsfare's cannon w^hich shattered their windows to 
take refuge in the cellars of their houses, and whose 
morbid curiosity had incited them forth to follow the 
soldiers, watched while a number of sleighs were 
laden with bodies and driven away into the town. 
There were thirteen killed here; one man, the orderly 
sergeant, still feebly breathed and was conscious. 
He was asked where Montgomery was. He replied 
he had not seen him for some time, and dying within 
an hour, gave no other answer. 

After the bodies were brought into the town. Carle- 
ton asked if one of the American officers taken 
prisoner at Sault au Matelot would identify a body 
said to be that of Montgomery. A field officer con- 
sented, and soon returned with the sad truth. The 
General had been found lying on his back, about 
two paces from the river, his arms extended and his 
knees drawn up as if in agony, though ' ' his counte- 
nance appeared regular, serene and placid, like the 
soul that late had animated it." Close to Montgomery, 
on his right and left, lay McPherson and Cheeseman. 
Two other bodies were very near them. Carletou, 
with commendable humanity, also sent out other 



THE DEATH OF MONTGOMERY 245 

search parties for the wounded in the direction of 
Sault au Matelot and St. Roque. Captains Lamb 
and Hubbard were rescued with many others, and 
carried to the hospital. 

The causes for the failure of this desperate assault 
upon Quebec have generally been summed up in the 
sweeping statement that it was so foolhardy that it 
never merited success, but we think those who have 
so characterized it have labored under a misappre- 
hension of Montgomery's real purpose, that they 
have altogether lost sight of his alternatives (which 
we have already sufficiently brought in contrast), and 
have failed to weigh many circumstances and con- 
siderations which recent research has brought into 
prominence. 

In the first place, it seems impossible that Mont- 
gomery could have had any intention or expectation 
of gaining the Upper Town by direct assault, except 
by the aid of the stratagems already referred to; he 
knew too well from careful inspection of the works 
from without, and from deserters and friends within 
the walls, how impregnable they were against so 
small a force as his at that season of the year. That 
Montgomery should have kept his opinions and his 
plans to himself was assuredly to be expected, for he 
must have been aware of the speed and certainty with 
which every move of his was reported within the city, 
and he knew that any information that his attack was 
to be directed against the Lower Town only would 
cause the enemy to reinforce heavily the narrow pas- 
sages at Pres de Ville and Sault au Matelot. He did 



24(; AKXOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

not wisli to <laiii|)C'ii the ardor of liis trooi).s ])y sug- 
gesting any {loiil)t that tlieir conquest was to ])e com- 
])lete, or that they miglit expect to spend the remain- 
der of the winter less comfortably quartered than in 
the Upper Town, or with their families at home. The 
desperate occasion demanded every stimulant. If this 
explanation of his i)urposes is the correct one, the 
criticisms of General Culloni and other American mili- 
tary officers, who liave based their conclusions on the 
assum])tion that Montgomery's ambition was to take 
both the Up])er and Lower Towns by assault that 
night, are beside the question. General Carrington, 
another American officer who has enjoyed some repu- 
tation as a military critic of the battles of the lievo- 
lution, should not be accorded too much confidence. 
He states that Arnold's detachment embarked from 
NewiDort— a ])alpable error which we might properly 
lay to the printer or ]iroofreader, did he not add that 
they reached that ])lace via Bedford. Charging this 
also to the printer or proofreader, we read later that 
Arnold crossed the St. Lawrence with nearly twice 
as many men as any fair search of authorities reveals. 
Mistakes like these shake our confidence in the au- 
thor's conclusions. It seems certain that a narrative 
manifestly faulty in such matters of record (for these 
are not the only mistakes to which we might call at- 
tention) cannot afford secure premises from which to 
argue, either with the technical knowledge of a mili- 
tary man or the common sense of a civilian. Perhaps 
the only British military critic of prominence who has 
paid this subject any attention, Major-General Sir 



THE DEATH OF MONTGOMERY 247 

J. Carmichael Smytlie, Bart., writes: "It may be 
observed of this enterprise against Quebec that the 
attempt was soldier-like and enterprising," but he is 
of the opinion that the feints and real attacks should 
have been reversed. Of course, the same comment 
may be applied to this criticism as that which we 
have made in connection with General CuUom's views, 
but it seems proper to add that General Smythe's 
work is not at all pretentious, and certainly does not 
claim to be an exhaustive study of the campaign. 

It should be remembered, also, that not only were 
the two leaders of the real assaults put at the very 
outset hors de combat, but their Canadian guides were 
both killed, so that the heads of each column were 
not only crushed and mutilated, but blinded as well. 
The night, too, was so dark and tempestuous that 
even those familiar with the way lost their bearings 
and wandered helpless among the drifts of snow which 
are said in some places to have been nearly thirty feet 
in depth. That the leaders of the little army should 
have exposed themselves to the greatest dangers was, 
in Montgomery's case at least, thought necessary. 
A knowledge of the sort of troops which he com- 
manded can alone determine the wisdom of his deci- 
sion. From their behavior after his death, it seems 
that Montgomery's judgment in regard to them was 
sound. With Arnold the case was different; he could 
not doubt the courage of the men who had followed 
him through the wilderness, still his acquaintance with 
the city was perhaps counted as worth something, and 
he was not a man to remain aloof in safety while his 



248 AKNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

soldiers were facing deatli and winning glory beneath 
tlie walls of the fortress he had come to capture. 

That it was possible to ])enetrate to the very center 
of the Lower Town was shown by the result; that it 
was not burned by the Americans is to be explained 
by their failure to receive any information with regard 
to the fate of Montgomery'- 's column. The wind was 
northeast, blowing very hard, and had they a[)plied 
the torch without waiting for tidings from Mont- 
gomery, they might have enveloped his troops in the 
general conflagration, and prevented the junction 
which was so essential a part of the plan. Contrary 
to most accounts, Livingston and his Canadians and 
Brown's party were not late, but reached their ap- 
pointed position in good season, and the rockets were 
discharged precisely at five o'clock according to 
orders, but both Arnold's and Montgomery's columns 
were behind time. What became of the men under 
Knowles is not known. Very probably, as they were 
but a small number, they were easily dispersed by 
Laws's sally. Some one has suggested that the depth 
of the snow-drifts prevented near aj^proach to the ram- 
parts, so that the danger from these false attacks 
never appeared imminent to the enemy, but it seems 
certain that they might have been longer persisted in 
and to much advantage. They might at least have 
prevented Laws from sallying from the Palace gate, 
and have covered the retreat of Morgan and Meigs. 

After all is said, Montgomery's error was in think- 
ing that so many points, each at considerable dis- 
tance from the others, could be approached simulta- 



THE DEATH OF MONTGOMERY 249 

neously, particularly on such a night, and over such 
rough and intricate roads. A plan which included a 
single real attack on the fortified front, strong enough 
to test the prospect of success there; another main 
attack in force upon the Sault au Matelot barriers, 
with a feint at Pres de Ville, calculated to draw the 
fire of the guns there, and steadily maintained while 
the other attacks were in progress, offered a very fair 
prospect of success, if the intention was merely to 
get possession of the Lower Town long enough either 
to fire it, or by threats of such a course to bring to 
bear upon Governor Carleton the pressure of the ter- 
rified loyalists of the city, who would urge surrender 
rather than submit to the destruction of their homes 
and their property. 

These operations would have detected any fault in 
the strength of the defenses, and offered the shortest 
and easiest possible supporting distance for the Amer- 
icans, and the longest and most difficult for the gar- 
rison. Where the greatest weakness developed, there 
the sword should have been plunged home. If no 
such weakness were exposed, the troops could be 
drawn off, and the retreat of any one assaulting col- 
umn if endangered, could be easily covered. There 
would have been strength enough outside to hold open 
the mouth of the trap which the Lower Town became 
for Arnold's detachment. As it was, that important 
duty was entrusted to Livingston's Canadians, who 
failed at the critical moment, as there had been too 
much reason to expect would be the case. 



CHAPTPTl? XVI 
THE AMERICANS STAND THEIR GROUND 

The loss which the Americans sustained in killed, 
wounded and those taken ]irisoners, durinp^ the early 
hours of this most disastrous New Year's Day, was so 
great that the reader cannot but wonder that the sur- 
vivors had the spirit to maintain an investment of 
the town with ranks so i)iti fully thinned. It is im- 
possible to set down with exactness the details of this 
loss, for accounts of it differ widely. A report found 
in the Canadian archives ]:)laces it at thirty killed, 
forty-two wounded and three hundred and eighty-nine 
taken prisoners, a postscript adding that sixteen rebels 
later died of their wounds within the cit\'^, while 
twenty-three more died of the smallpox or camp 
fever. These figures are ])robably too low, for Colonel 
McLean, writing to a friend on May 28, declares that 
the garrison had buried two hundred and twenty 
rebels since the assault on the morning of January 1, 
besides twenty more whose bodies were found in the 
spring when the snow melted away. Arnold's own 
report has lieen lost, but Henry, the American soldier 
from whose journal I have quoted in earlier pages, 
estimates the loss of the army as at least one hundred 
and fifty killed and sixty wounded, the proportion 
of fatalities being very high on account of the bitter 

(250) 



AMERICANS STAND THEIR GROUND 251 

cold and the driving snow, which caused many to 
die who under other conditions would only have been 
crippled by their wounds. There seems no reason to 
doubt that Carleton was not far out of the way when 
he wrote to General Howe that ' ' the rebels had be- 
tween six and seven hundred men, and between forty 
and fifty officers, killed, wounded or taken prisoners." 
This was more than half of the entire force, including 
the invalids and the unreliable French-Canadian vol- 
unteers. 

The British loss was put by Carleton as low as 
' ' one lieutenant killed and four of the rank and file 
wounded," while other accounts make it ten times as 
great. Probably the truth lies between; perhaps with 
a British officer who admitted in his journal five 
deaths and fourteen men wounded; perhaps with 
Henry, who tells us that the captain of the prison 
guard said seven or eight were killed, and fifteen or 
twenty wounded. 

Among the bodies found by the garrison and 
brought within the walls, as related in the last chap- 
ter, was that of General Montgomery. So many 
different tales of the burial of Montgomery have 
been told, most of them supported by testimony of 
apparently equal credibility, that it is with great sat- 
isfaction that I find myself able to give this account 
upon the authority of the officer who actually super- 
intended the burial. 

Upon the General's body being brought within the 
walls it was identified by a Mrs. Prentice, a widow, 
who then kept a hotel known by the name of ' ' Free 



25:2 ARXOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

Masons' Hall," by a scar on one of his cheeks, sup- 
posed to be a saber cut. This identification being 
confirmed by one of the xVmericau ofHicers who had 
been taken prisoner, General Carleton ordered that 
the body should be decently buried in the most 
private manner, and entrusted the direction of the 
alfairs to James Thom})sou, the engineer, Mr. 
Thompson caused the body to be conveyed to a 
small log liouse on St. Louis street, the second from 
the corner of St. Ursule street, owned by one Fran- 
cois Gaubert, a cooper, and ordered a suitable coffin 
l)repared. He also attended the funeral and saw the 
body placed in a grave next to that of his own first 
wife, within and near the surrounding wall of the 
powder magazine, then standing in the gorge of the 
St. Louis bastion. There were six men and Dunn, 
the undertaker, in attendance, beside the Rev, Mr. 
DeMontmollin, the military chaplain, who read the 
service. The interment took i)lace about sundown 
on January 4, 

The statement made by several writers, contempo- 
rary and otherwise, that Montgomery's body was 
escorted to the grave by an impressive funeral cor- 
tege, and buried with all the honors of war, seems 
in the face of this account to be a mistake. Perhaps 
it arose from the fact that on the same day several 
British officers who had fallen during the night 
assault were buried with such pomp as the condition 
of the garrison would allow; Montgomery's simple 
obsequies may have been confused with theirs. In- 
deed it would have been an act of very doubtful 



AMERICANS STAND THEIR GROUND 253 

policy to make any conspicuous display of official 
respect over Montgomery's grave. Honors paid to 
rebels, dead or alive, would not promote constancy 
and loyalty. Nevertheless the gallant young officer 
so recently a comrade in his Majesty's service had 
many a sincere mourner among garrison and citizens 
alike, and his early and heroic death was lamented 
in eloquent phrases by the greatest of English states- 
men within the halls of Parliament itself. Throughout 
the colonies men felt his loss as a personal bereave- 
ment, and Congress, in testimony to his bravery, 
patriotism and indomitable perseverance, voted the 
money for a monument to his memory, which was 
erected in the churchyard of St. Paul's chapel in 
New York. Forty-two years later his body was re- 
moved from its shallow grave under the walls of 
Quebec and reinterred with solemn ceremonial in St. 
Paul's within a few rods of the shaft raised in his 
honor by the young republic in whose cause he had 
fallen. 

His pet spaniel, no less sincere a mourner than his 
human friends, lay for eight days without food upon 
his master's grave, until he was removed by Carle- 
ton's aide-de-camp, Lenaudiere,— so at least we are 
told in the memoirs of one de Gaspe, who was himself 
a relative of Lenaudiere. Both the General's aides, 
John McPherson and Jacob Cheeseman, were buried 
in their clothes without coffins in a trench dug near 
Montgomery's grave. Here also were interred all 
the other soldiers killed at Pres de Ville and brought 
into the city. 



'254 AIJNOLD'S KXI'KDrrioX TO (^I^EBEC 

Shortly afterward, Thompson visited the American 
officei's, \vlio were confined in the minor seminary of 
Laval, liaviiiii: at his side the sword of ^lonti^omory, 
which he had iJiircliased from a dniiiimcr ])oy who 
had incked it nj) heside the body of the General when 
found at Pres de Ville. The prisoners were so deeply 
affected at the sight that several wept, and Thompson 
was so imu'li im|)ressed by their emotion that he 
never wore the sword again in their ])resence. Later 
Cai'leton, npon receiving a request from ]\rrs. Mont- 
gomery, conveyed through General Wooster, forwarded 
Montgomery's watch and seal to her. 

When tidings of the death of IMontgomery reached 
the General rTos])ital and were communicated to the 
sick and wounded by the Abbe de Higaudville, the 
cha]ilain, the utmost consternation ])revailed; even 
the nuns from sympathy, or i)olicy, joined in the uni- 
versal lament, "Montgomery is dead— Montgomery is 
dead! " Every invalid wlio could move sought to seize 
his baggage and fly; weak from fevers or wounds, 
they stumbled and fell helpless to the floor in i)anic, 
while the sisters looked on in distress. Here at the 
hospital lay Arnold, enduring the first pain of his 
shattered leg, and weak from loss of blood. When a 
report reached him that the enemy were sallying, he 
would not allow the attendants to carry him from the 
building to a place of safety, nor to leave the hospi- 
tal themselves, but ordered them to place his pistols 
and sword on his bed that he might kill as many as 
possible of his enemies should they enter the room. 
He even ordered guns to be placed near each of 



AMERICANS STAND THEIR GROUND 255 

the wounded men. When the alarm proved false 
he coolly proceeded to make the best disposition he 
could of the demoralized forces which remained to 
him; he would not permit the removal of the artil- 
lery stores and ammunition, of which they had a 
large quantity, lest the want of confidence implied 
thereby should increase the distrust of their Cana- 
dian allies in the ability of the Americans to hold 
their ground. But he caused the cannon to be with- 
drawn from the battery of the Plains and placed 
around the magazine, and ordered couriers to be 
dispatched to the captains of Canadian militia in the 
neighboring parishes, urging them to hurry to their 
support. Many Canadians came in under the im- 
pression that the Lower Town was in the hands of 
the Americans. 

He also wrote to General Wooster by Mr. Antill, 
giving him a brief account of the assault, and noti- 
fying him that, owing to his wound, he had made 
over the command which devolved upon him, to 
Colonel Campbell. This letter he wrote from his bed 
in the General Hospital, in the early morning of the 
1st of January, at the end of this long night of ex- 
citement, hardship, suffering, and defeat. 

Arnold's retirement in favor of Colonel Campbell, 
though made in entire good faith, was by no means 
acceptable to the other officers, who felt that the 
latter 's indecision and timidity after Montgomery's 
death had sacrificed what might have been a brilliant 
success at Pres de Ville, and had therefore been the 
cause of the ruin which had overtaken the entire en- 



256 ARNOLD'S KXrEDITIOX TO QUEliEC 

terin'ise. By a unanimous vote thoy aj^pointed Arnold 
commander of all the troo])s before Quebec, and uj)on 
liim, stretched heli)less ui)on his bed, devolved the 
ahiiost liO])eloss task of gatlierini; the shattered rem- 
nants of the army about him, reorg'anizing the dis- 
heartened battalions and encouraging them to persist 
iri the tedious and dreary investment of the city. 
That his own indomitable spirit did not waver we 
leai'n from this letter, written a few days after the 
failure of the assault: 

' ' I have no thought of leaving this proud town 
until I first enter it in triumph. My wound has been 
exceedingly painful, but it is now easy, and the sur- 
geon assures me it will be well in eight weeks. Provi- 
dence, which has carried me through so many dangers, 
is still my protector. I am in the way of my duty, 
and know no fear. ' ' 

The force which the wounded commander found at 
his disposal numbered less than seven hundred men, 
including Livingston's body of Canadians, and many 
of these were prostrated by sickness or severe wounds. 
About one hundred men, panic-stricken, had fled to- 
ward Montreal before enough discipline was restored 
to the routed army to check their flight. Desertions 
also were frequent, for the camp duty was increasingly 
arduous, and the peril from smallpox, exposure and 
the enemy's superior force was in like measure far 
greater than before the ill-starred assault. Ex]:)ecting 
daily that the British, flushed with success, and now 
treble their number, would sally forth to overwhelm 
them before they could recover from their crushing 



AMERICANS STAND THEIE GROUND 257 

defeat, the remnant of the little army of patriots set 
at once to work to build themselves a breastwork of 
snow and ice to protect them from musket-balls. 

Gloom and discouragement pervaded the camp. 
Smallpox, like a hidden sharpshooter, continued to 
pick off its victims, and details for the burial of these 
unfortunates and some of those mortally wounded 
on the night of the assault, made more arduous and 
disheartening the long terms of guard duty forced 
upon every able-bodied man by the poverty of their 
numbers. The rigor of the season continued una- 
bated and heavy snow-storms and severe cold pre- 
vailed. Four feet of snow on a level covered the 
ground. But the British, not to be tempted even by 
the feebleness of their antagonists, continued to hug 
their fortifications, and the long winter days, full of 
anxiety, wretchedness and discomfort for the Conti- 
nentals, dragged on, while no reinforcements reached 
them from Montreal. Wooster wrote home telling of 
his astonishment that Arnold was still able to hold 
the garrison within the walls. At a liberal estimate, 
Arnold had not more than three hundred and fifty 
men fit for duty, not counting the Canadians. Wash- 
ington declared that ''it (the blockade) exhibits fresh 
proofs of Arnold's ability and perseverance in the 
midst of difficulties." 

On the 19th of January the Americans made bon- 
fires of the houses in St. John to prevent the garrison 
from using them as firewood, and on the 23d, suc- 
ceeded in setting fire to some of the vessels moored 
along the St. Charles. On the following night the 

17 



258 AKXOLD'R EXl'EDTTTON TO (QUEBEC 

torch was applied to St. IJoque. The conflagration 
was a fearful sight to the heleaguered citizens. The 
snow-laden clouds, hanging low, took an orange tinge, 
and the snow,— so far as the flames gave light,— 
turned reddish yellow. The adjacent country seemed 
covered with a i)itchy fire, and the villages of Beau- 
port, Charlesbourg and St. Foy were just visible in the 
lurid glare. Nothing could be heard but the crackling 
of burning timbers and the hollow roaring of fierce 
flames. Fourteen houses were destroyed that night. 

At last, on the 24th of January, one hundred and 
fifty men arrived at the rebel camp, from General 
Wooster at Montreal. These were followed, on Feb- 
ruary 4, by trooi^s from New England, some twenty- 
five in number, who had come across the country on 
snow-shoes, carrying their j)rovisions on their backs. 
From that time reinforcements continued to arrive in 
small parties both from IMontreal and the colonies. 
Recruiting officers were also sent into the smaller 
towns and parishes of the surrounding country, to 
endeavor to reorganize the Canadian militia, and 
attach it to the cause ; while Arnold assumed authority 
of Congress, and pledged his own credit to raise 
another regiment of Canadians, writing that he hoped 
the exigency of his situation would secure the coun- 
tenance of Congress for his acts. 

The force of the besiegers was still far too small 
completely to invest Quebec or to undertake any offen- 
sive movement; they could not even succeed in pre- 
venting the garrison from sallying in small parties, 
from time to time, to obtain fresh sup})lies of fuel 



AMERICANS STAND THEIR GROUND 259 

from the ruins of houses in St. Roque and St. John. 
In spite of their every effort, by one ruse and another, 
messengers from the loyal party in Montreal and the 
upper region of the province often succeeded in car- 
rying dispatches through their lines and safely return- 
ing, the frozen river offering many opportunities for 
passing in and out of the town. It may fairly be 
questioned whether Arnold was wise in maintaining 
a siege so inefficient, and whether he could not have 
served his cause more effectually by retreating to 
Montreal and comfortably caring for his men in 
winter quarters there, while he conciliated and organ- 
ized the Canadians in preparation for a renewal of 
the siege in the spring. But his orders from "Wash- 
ington were almost imperative ; affairs must be pushed 
while the frozen river prevented reinforcements from 
reaching the garrison; spring could not be waited for. 
* ' I need not mention to you, ' ' he wrote from Cam- 
bridge January 27, * * the great importance of this place 
[Quebec], and the consequent possession of all Can- 
ada, in the scale of American affairs. You are well 
apprised of it. To whomsoever it belongs, in their 
favor, probably, will the balance turn. If it is ours, 
success, I think, will most certainly crown our vir- 
tuous struggles. If it is theirs, the contest, at best, 
will be doubtful, hazardous and bloody. The glorious 
work must be accomplished in the course of this win- 
ter, otherwise it will become difficult, most probably 
impracticable; for the administration, knowing it will 
be impossible ever to reduce us to a state of slavery 
and arbitrary rule without it, will certainly send a 



260 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

large reinforcement lliitlici- in the spring. I am 
fully convinced that your exertions will be invariably 
directed to this grand object, and I already view the 
a])pi'oac]iing day when you and your brave followers 
will enter this important fortress with every honor 
attendant on victory." 

Arnold himself was sanguine of the ultimate suc- 
cess of the campaign, although he recognized the 
pitiful inadequacy of tlie force assembled under his 
command. While still stretched upon his bed in the 
(Jeneral Hospital he wrote to beg Congress to send to 
Quebec an army of at least five thousand men under 
a general of experience. With this force he believed 
the fortress could be taken. ' ' Every possible prepa- 
ration of mortars, howitzers, and some hea\"y cannon 
should be made, ' ' he added, ' ' as the season will per- 
mit raising our batteries by the middle of March, 
which may very possibly be attended with success, 
as we can place our mortars under cover within 
200 yards of ihe walls, and within 1,000 feet of the 
center of the town. I am well assured that more 
than one-half of the citizens of Quebec would gladly 
open the gates for us, but are prevented by the strict 
discipline and watch kept over them; the command of 
the guards being constantly given to officers of the 
Crown known to be firm in its interest. The garrison 
consists of about fifteen hundred men, a great part 
of whom Governor Carleton can place no confidence 
in, or he would not suffer a blockade and every dis- 
tress of a siege by 700 men. ' ' 

It proved impossible to raise and equip the five 



AMERICANS STAND THEIR GROUND 261 

thousand troops that Arnold had asked for. Wash- 
ington could spare none from the army with which 
he still maintained the siege of Boston, for it was 
only with the greatest difficulty that he could induce 
enough of the militia to remain with him to carry 
forward his own operations. But what could be done, 
was done. A council of general officers was called at 
Cambridge which ' ' determined that the colonies of 
Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut should 
each immediately raise a regiment to continue in ser- 
vice one year, and to march forthwith to Canada." 
Without waiting for Congress to carry out a resolu- 
tion to raise nine battalions for that purpose, passed 
before the news of the failure of the attack on Quebec 
had reached them, Washington addressed letters to 
the General Court of Massachusetts, to the Governor 
of Connecticut, and to the president of the convention 
of New Hampshire, requesting them to act at once 
upon the decision of the war council. Connecticut 
had already anticipated the call, and sent off troops 
without delay to Canada. The other colonies also 
gallantly responded. New Hampshire soon raised a 
regiment under the command of Colonel Bedell, and 
Massachusetts another under Colonel Elisha Porter; 
both were hurried to Canada by way of ' ' Number 
Four" ( Charlestown, N. H.), and the Onion River. 
Captain Ebenezer Stevens, with two companies of 
Knox's Massachusetts artillery and a company of 
artificers, cut a road for forty miles across the Green 
Mountains to Otter creek, and descended that stream 
on rafts constructed on the banks. 



CllAPTEK XVII 

PRISONERS OF WAR 

Meanwhile, what was tlio fate of the four hundred 
unfortunate men who had survived the ])erils of the 
wilderness with Arnold, and the slaughter of the 
night assault with Morgan, only to be ignominiously 
made prisoners and confined in the very town they 
had come to cai)ture? We have already seen that 
the officers were imprisoned in the Seminary of 
Laval and the enlisted men in the Monastery and 
College of the Recollects in the Upper Town. This 
latter building, had Carleton felt he could spare a 
larger number of men for guard duty, would have 
made an excellent i)rison. It was an immense quad- 
rangular edifice, capable of accommodating three or 
four thousand persons, enclosing a half-acre or so of 
open garden or shrubbery, one side of the building 
being built on the slope of the hill. The lower part 
of the building was at this time used for a store- 
house, and the prisoners were confined in an upper 
story, where they were given rooms about ten by 
twelve or fourteen feet in floor dimensions, opening 
off long galleries about twelve feet wide. They were 
numerous enough, though ten or twelve were confined 
in each room, to occu])y the greater part of each of 
two sides of the quadrangle. They were crowded 

(262) 



PRISONERS OF WAR 263 

into these shamefully narrow quarters in order to 
economize guards, and their discomfort for the short 
time they remained here was very great. Nor were 
they in any respect cheered by the sight of the 
wagons which repeatedly passed the windows of their 
prison, bearing the dead bodies of their comrades 
who had fallen in the assault. Heaped upon one 
another just as they had been rescued from the 
snow-drifts, frozen into stiffly distorted shapes, the 
spectacle was one which moved the pity even of the 
enemy and plunged the prisoners into the depths of 
dejection and grief. 

Except for the unwholesome crowding to which 
they were subjected, the Americans were treated with 
humanity, and even with consideration. The mer- 
chants of the town, with Carleton's permission, sent 
them a tun of rum for a New Year's gift and the Gov- 
ernor himself showed them several notable kindnesses. 
One of their jailers indeed was accused of selling the 
provisions allowed to the captives for his own profit, 
but his career was brief, for smallpox, which was 
raging in the city, made a speedy end of him. Their 
daily ration was a pound of bread, half a pound of pork 
and a gill of rice, with six ounces of butter a week. 

The prisoners were early visited by Colonel McLean 
and other officers to ascertain how many of them were 
born in Europe. Those who confessed to British or 
Irish birth were told that they might enlist in the 
Eoyal Emigrants, or be sent to England in the spring 
and tried for treason. Ninety-five enlisted, many 
under the impression that an oath so forced was not 



264 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

obligatory and with the intention of deserting imme- 
diately, while others— among them native Americans— 
I'ound the temptation of a speedy return to their wives 
and sweethearts too strong for their honor. 

The first to make free use of their newly acquired 
liberty w^ere Connors and Cavanaugh — two Irishmen 
of Smith's company. They procured a bottle of rum, 
and, while they were treating a sentry, knocked him 
down with the butt of a gun, and then sprang over a 
wall, a distance of thirty or forty feet, into a snow- 
drift which was nearly twenty-five feet deep. Their 
danger lay chiefly in sinking too far before they could 
extricate themselves. They were fired upon by a dis- 
tant sentry, who missed. Both of them finally scam- 
pered off unharmed, although they had to run another 
gauntlet of grape and canister before they reached 
their friends. They were followed at frequent inter- 
vals by many of their fellow-countrymen, who took 
the same view of their forced allegiance to the King 
that they did, until Carleton in disgust ordered back 
into confinement all of the ninety-five who still re- 
mained within the walls. 

The American officers at the Seminary of Laval 
were more comfortably lodged than their comrades 
of the rank and file. Then, too, their baggage was 
allowed to be sent in to them from the camp out- 
side, and they were regularly visited by Carleton 's 
physician, who carried his care for them so far as to 
inoculate a number of them for the smallpox. In 
spite of this precaution, three took the disease and 
one died, while Captain Hubbard, who had been 



PRISONERS OF WAR 265 

severely wounded in the assault, died a few days 
later of his wounds. The British officers, who occa- 
sionally visited their prisoners, were greatly surprised 
at the humble position in society which the American 
officers had occupied. Major Caldwell wrote after- 
ward to a friend as follows : ' ' You can have no con- 
ception what kind of men composed the officers. Of 
those we took, one major was a blacksmith, another 
a hatter; of their captains, there was a butcher, a 
tanner, a shoemaker, a tavern-keeper, etc., yet they 
all pretended to be gentlemen." 

The officers who had been inoculated had been 
assigned to another room; and they were allowed the 
privilege of walking into the adjoining room, and in 
the entry, two at a time, for fresh air and exercise. 
But the others found their quarters in one room, 31 
by 27 feet, very cramped, and were not of the spirit 
to be patient with such narrow bounds of confinement. 
Some of them were not long in casting about for 
means of escape; but this was foreseen by their cap- 
tors, who, from time to time, moved them to different 
quarters in the building. Squares of glass were set 
into the doors of the rooms where they slept, so that 
the guards could look in at any time, and a lamp was 
kept burning all night in each room. If any of the 
windows were raised during the night, the sentries 
outside had orders to fire. On the 5th of January 
pens and ink were taken from them, on suspicion that 
they were trying to communicate with friends outside, 
and this prevented the officers from keeping the jour- 
nals they had commenced. 



2G6 ARNOLD'S KXPKDTTTOX TO QUEBEC 

News of the war leaked in from the outside world, 
or was repeated to the prisoners by the sentries. 
Most of the stories, however, were highlj^ colored by 
British imaginations. They were told that General 
Washington had lost four thousand men, some killed 
and some wounded, in attempting to storm Boston; 
that Montreal had been taken by the Canadians; that 
General Lee had marched ui)on New York, and that 
out of two thousand men he had lost three hundred 
by desertion; that General Amherst had arrived in 
New York with twelve thousand troops, and that the 
paper currency of Congress had lost all its value. 
These reports of course served to increase a de- 
spondency already profound, though the prisoners 
found cause for temporary encouragement in a cabal- 
istic message from Lieutenant Church, smuggled in 
with Captain Topham's baggage, by which they were 
informed that ' ' their long-nosed cousin, with his thick- 
neck black dog, was a-coming to their assistance." 
This was interpreted to mean that plans were already 
afoot for their rescue. 

"Within the city the winter was now at its height. 
The snow was drifted in places ten, and even twenty, 
feet deep, often burying the cannon on the ramparts 
entirely. It was so cold that sentries had to be re- 
lieved every half hour. Provisions had become very 
dear. Beef had risen to Is. 6d. a pound, pork was at 
Is. 3d., and a dozen eggs sold for 2s. 6d. Firewood 
was exhausted, and the people were compelled to pull 
down houses and appropriate the timber for fuel. 
The mercury fell to 28^° below zero, and the in- 



PRISONERS OF WAR 267 

habitants pronounced the winter the most severe they 
could remember with but one exception. Every one 
began to live on salted provisions, salt pork, salt 
beef, and salt fish. 

Poor food, and the want of fresh meat and exercise 
told heavily on all; the prisoners, of course, fared 
the worst. They were always very scantily supplied 
with fuel; sometimes they had none at all; and, since 
they had no other clothing than that in which they 
had surrendered, they suffered severely. Often it was 
too cold to sleep, and not infrequently they spent the 
long and weary winter nights tramping to and fro, ex- 
ercising in whatever ways their imagination could in- 
vent and the narrow bounds of their prison allowed. 
Governor Carleton treated the prisoners with a hu- 
manity which gained him an honorable reputation, 
but it was such humanity as a beleaguered garrison, 
now obliged to husband its resources for its own 
sustenance, could afford. 

Shortly after the middle of January the common 
soldiers had been taken from the College of the 
Recollects and carried to the Dauphin jail. This 
was a building constructed in the old French bastile 
style, with stone walls three feet thick and sunken 
windows heavily barred with iron. It stood about 
three hundred yards from St. John's gate. It was 
encompassed by a wall some twenty feet high, and 
was placed on a slight elevation, so that the jail 
court yard in the rear was higher by several feet 
than St. John's street on the front. A flight of 
steps ran from the heavy front door to the street. 



268 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

and a staircase led from the ball within this door to 
the second story. There were four rooms below and 
as many above this stairway, well supplied with 
berths and bunks. Smith's company occupied one 
of the second-story rooms; Morgan's that immedi- 
ately below, and Hendricks's men the one adjoining 
Morgan's. Some of the men were in the hospital. 
Out of the sixty-five men of Smith's comjoany who 
mounted the Plains of Abraham, scarcely more than 
thirty now remained. 

Upon examining the jail and its immediate sur- 
roundings, the prisoners soon perceived that while 
it presented, superficially, an appearance of great 
strength, in reality it had been strangely neglected 
and offered every inducement to enterprise. The iron 
bars on many of the windows were so corroded that 
they could be readily moved up and down in their 
sockets and could be displaced without much difficulty. 
In the front basement on St. John's street was a 
newly-made door of planks, which opened inward; 
it was hung upon H hinges and hasped, and secured 
on the inside by a large padlock. Here was an 
oversight w^hicli seemed almost an invitation. The 
prisoners soon manipulated the hinges and the pad- 
lock, so that they could remove them quickly and at 
will. A sally-port better adapted to their purposes 
could hardly have been arranged for them. 

The non-commissioned officers of the various com- 
panies took the lead, and met in daily consultation. 
At the top of the staircase they noticed a small room 
lighted by two windows. Peeping through the key- 



PRISONERS OF WAR 269 

hole, they discovered a quantity of iron junk. They 
managed to pick the lock and after ransacking the 
room, carefully closed the door. Amongst the junk 
were some iron hoops, about three inches broad, out 
of which they crudely made some iron swords and 
spear-heads. They then took out the bottom of their 
berths, which were made of fir-plank, and split them 
into shafts for their weapons. The lower berths hap- 
pened to be raised from the floor and the weapons 
were secreted there. In addition to these, some of 
the prisoners, when they surrendered, had secreted 
their long hunting-knives and a few tomahawks. 

There were sentries posted at each of the four cor- 
ners of the jail, and on top of the wall of the jail 
court, which was broad enough to be patrolled. There 
was also another sentry posted about twenty feet in 
front of the cellar door, but these sentries were all 
outside and knew nothing of how the prisoners passed 
their time. The captain of the provost guard, who 
was most likely to discover their preparations, was 
not suspicious, and the prisoners posted sentries of 
their own to give notice of the approach of the guard, 
fourteen decrepit old men and boys, whose appoint- 
ment over them the captives considered rather an in- 
sult to their manhood than good economy on the part 
of Carleton. The British officers chose to consider, 
still, that the rank and file of the Americans were 
poor devils deluded by designing rascals and dazzled 
by the phantom of ' ' liberty. ' ' 

It seemed that the only obstacle in the way of an 
escape was to be found at St. John's gate, which 



270 ARNOLD'S EXl*p:r)ITIOX TO QUEBEC 

was guarded by thirty men, eitlier regular troops or 
sailors. The guard-house of the prison-guard was 
distant from the jail some fortj^ feet, and was in full 
view. From the windows and a skylight of the 
prison, the prisoners could descry every sentiy, and 
it was observed at night that the guard, on being 
relieved, stacked their anns in a corner of a room in 
the story abo\'e the basement of the guard-house, lay 
down on the floor about the fire, and were generally 
asleep in a few moments. Assiduous observation 
acquainted the Americans with every duty of these 
guards; they knew the number of steps of the flight 
which led to the guard-room opposite; they had cal- 
culated the number of strides necessary to surmount 
them, and felt confident that the sentries could be 
easily surprised and overpowered. Every detail was 
worked out with the greatest care, and the forces of 
the prisoners were organized by appointing those 
of the greatest spirit as majors and captains. 

Sergeant Aston of Lamb's company was to lead 
the remnants of his old company, increased by about 
one hundred and fifty others, in an attack upon the 
guards at St. John's gate, while Sergeant Boyd of 
Smith's company, with a smaller body of picked men, 
was to attack the guard-house, put the guard to the 
sword, and then join Aston. One small reserve was 
to set the jail and guard-house on fire, and another 
party was to cut down the sentinels (who on account 
of the cold would probably be in their sentry-boxes), 
and afterwards to act as a reserve to Aston. It was 
calculated that they could be in possession of St. 



PRISONERS OF WAR 271 

Jolin's gate and turn the cannon there on the city 
within fifteen minutes. They would then hold St. 
John's gate until the arrival of their comrades from 
the American camp. Should they fail to make them- 
selves masters of the gate, they were to scatter in 
every direction and to leap the wall wherever they 
dared to take the risk. In the confusion it was 
thought a good many would be able to effect their 
escape. 

A certain John Martin, a daring and active fellow 
of Lamb's company, proposed to carry intelligence 
for the prisoners to the Americans without the walls 
in order to secure their cooperation. His plan was 
approved. The signal for Arnold's troops to attack 
St. John's gate was to be the burning of the jail 
and the guard-house. A white cap, shirt and over- 
alls were prepared for Martin, but he appeared 
among the prisoners in the yard the day set for his 
attempt, in his daily dress. Those cognizant of the 
plot encouraged their fellow prisoners to prolong their 
exercise in the courtyard to the last moment, under 
pretense of keeping warm— for the interior of the 
jail was often too cold to permit the prisoners any 
comfort, even to sleep. At locking-up time these 
knowing ones lagged behind; then pushed those in 
the front so effectually as to block up the gangway, 
Martin remaining in the rear. This took place at 
the clanging of the lock of the great front door; and 
was concerted to afford Martin time to get to his hid- 
ing place, which was a nook in the doorway, where 
he had time to put on his white cap, coat and shoes. 



272 ARNOLD'S EXl'EDITKJX TO QUEHEC 

He then coucealed liimself under tlie snow on top of 
tlie bank which supported the wall of the court. 
Happily the officer who brought up the rear made 
but a hasty inspection. 

Martin remained in his hiding ])lace until seven 
or eight o'clock, watching for his opportunity. As 
darkness came on, he mounted the wall and plunged 
into the snow beneath, from whence he darted to the 
left to St. John's gate, lea]:)ed the wall of the Upper 
Town and fell again into a snow-drift. He attracted 
a shot from a distant sentry, who missed him. As 
soon as his body came into contact with the snow 
it could not be distinguished, and the plucky fellow 
easily escaped. His absence was for some reason 
unnoticed for several days by the officers in charge 
of the prison. 

The conspirators had little reason to fear the old 
men and youths who formed the prison guard— 
twenty-four in number. They joked with them freely, 
pretending to learn French; and, as one way of pro- 
curing powder, they made some toy cannon out of 
wood and paper and engaged the interest of the 
guards by amusing sham battles. Then they begged 
a little powder from the guard to try their cannon 
with. This ruse was successful, and the Americans 
finally secured a number of cartridges; they also 
procured, through some of their friends in town, six 
pistols, some more powder and ball, and a good 
supply of port-fire. 

Thomas Gibson, a young medical student, a ser- 
geant in Hendricks's company, had cheeks which 



PRISONERS OF WAR 273 

bloomed like roses and a mind whose guile was be- 
lied by the innocence of his face. The prisoners were 
often visited by charitable persons and some of the 
nuns of religious houses, who seldom came empty- 
handed. One day, seeing one of the sisters approach- 
ing, Gibson was put to bed and covered up to the 
chin with bedclothes, exposing only his beautiful 
hair and his red cheeks, which seemed burning with 
fever. The nun, overcome with sympathy and pity 
for one so young and fair, brought to such a strait, 
crossed herself and, murmuring a paternoster, poured 
out the contents of her little purse. By this decep- 
tion the prisoners acquired two shillings, which were 
appropriated to purchasing powder from the guard. 
With the few ounces thus obtained they manufactured 
fuses with which to fire the enemy's cannon at St. 
John's gate when it should be won. They knew the 
cannon were kept loaded and that boxes of ammuni- 
tion were close at hand. Lamb's artillerymen would 
know how to use them, but fuses might be lacking. 
They were determined not to overlook anything, and 
to be prepared for all mischances. 

On the last day of March everything was in read- 
iness. But there was one difficulty in the way, here- 
tofore overlooked, which they had as yet been unable 
to overcome. At the foot of the cellar stairs in the 
jail, and not far from the plank door which they 
proposed to use as a sally-port, was a spring which 
gushed out in a small fountain-head of water. The 
conduits which carried the water from the spring 
were blocked with ice from the severity of the 

18 



274 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

weailiGi': tliis had caused an overflow. Persons 
rinsing buckets had carelessly thrown slops over the 
floor, and a body of ice very deep and solid had 
formed against the threshold of the plank door. All 
sorts of plans were suggested to free the door, for, 
of course, it was necessary that it should fall instantly 
when attacked from within. One suggested melting 
the impeding ice with boiling water, but the sentry in 
front of the door might be alanned by the water trick- 
ling over the threshold, or, what was more probable, 
the water might freeze as soon as thrown on. Another 
would have picked away the ice with a tomahawk, but 
this was objected to, as the noise might be heard by 
the sentry. Finally it was decided that sixteen of their 
most trusted and prudent men should take turns, 
two by two, in paring away the ice with their long 
knives. They estimated that this might be done by 
about three o'clock in the morning, the men working 
stealthily and patiently all night. It now became 
necessary to inform the majority of the piisoners of 
the general feature of the design, but the details it 
was deemed wise to suppress. 

The longed-for night— the night of April 1— 
arrived, but the goddess of fortune or that Provi- 
dence which was to decree the continuance of Canada 
in the British empire, had not yet filled to the brim 
the cup of bitterness which these men must drink. 
Among those most recently, and of necessity, let into 
the secret, were two young fellows from Connecticut, 
burning for an opportunity to display their zeal and 
wisdom. Having noticed the impediment raised by 



PRISONERS OF WAR 275 

the ice at the threshold of the cellar door, without 
consulting any of their leaders, they crept down into 
the cellar and began to pick away at the ice with a 
tomahawk. The sentry heard them, threatened to 
fire, and the guard was doubled. 

The next morning a severe inquisition took place. 
Major Prentice and twelve musketeers entered the 
jail, descended into the cellar and discovered the work 
of the two lads. When they reascended the stairs the 
prisoners assured the officers that this work of the Con- 
necticut youngsters was entirely without the knowledge 
of the majority of the prisoners. Major Prentice was 
about to withdraw, when one of the prisoners, one 
John Hall, who was a deserter from the British at 
Boston (although it was not then known), pushed 
forward to his side and, touching him on the shoulder, 
said, ' ' Sir, I have something to disclose. ' ' Examined 
in private. Hall confessed the plot to its minutest 
detail and named each person primarily connected 
with it. The ringleaders were sent for and examined, 
and boldly justified the attempt. 

At 2 o'clock a load of foot-irons and handcuffs 
was brought to the prison. Some of the bars were 
twelve feet long and two inches in diameter; to each 
of these ten or twelve men were secured. When it 
proved that there were not enough for all, the rest 
of the men were ordered to take to their berths. The 
doors were scarcely closed before the unhappy cap- 
tives were trying to get out of their irons. Those 
who had small hands, by compressing their palms, 
slipped off the handcuffs and then helped the others. 



276 ARNOLD'S EXPP:DITI0X TO QUEBEC 

They then tried to slip their feet through tlie foot- 
irons, but some of the prisoners' heels were so long 
that they could not do so, and, as the bars were 
beyond their combined strength to carry, they suffered 
exceedingly. The frigid weather added to their mis- 
ery, and it was no comfort to them to see those who 
had shorter heels withdraw their feet and walk about 
the jail. The usual inspection of the prisoners in- 
creased from two to three times a day, and on the 
first and last visits the blacksmith examined the man- 
acles and shackles of the prisoners. The latter, in 
their turn, again stationed sentries to warn one another 
of the coming of the inspectors; but in spite of these 
precautions sometimes the clanging of the door was 
their only warning, and at such times the scampering 
of the men to find and resume their irons was divert- 
ing enough to make them forget for the moment 
their manifold misfortunes. The blacksmith was an 
Irishman of a feeling heart, and probably knew some- 
thing of the real situation, and indeed there is some 
reason to think that the Governor did also, but 
humanely winked at it. 

Towards the middle of April, cut short in their 
exercise, their only resource for amusement gambling 
for their wretched rations, scurvy in its most virulent 
foma made its appearance among the prisoners. More 
than two hundred of them were still hardly well of the 
smallpox, of which a number had died, and they fell 
easy victims to this new scourge. They were attended 
by Dr. Maybin of the garrison, who by his kindness 
won their gratitude and affection. Upon his recom- 



PRISONERS OP WAR 277 

mendation, the prisoners were permitted to practice 
such athletic sports as their manacles would permit. 
Those who were indolent became a prey to every dis- 
gusting symptom of the disease, their teeth loosened 
and dropped out, and the flesh seemed to rot upon 
their bones. The fun and good humor which had 
hitherto supported all, gave way to groans and de- 
spair. One prisoner named Sias went mad. The 
scant clothing of the prisoners, worn without change 
for four months of imprisonment, and filthy with dirt 
and vermin, was in rags. Some of the men were 
almost as naked again as when they emerged from the 
Chaudiere forests. Daily from the prison the sick 
and helpless were borne to the hospital, and daily 
from thence their wasted corpses were carried to the 
' ' dead house ' ' and tossed among the frozen bodies of 
their fellow-countrymen, or buried in shallow and 
nameless graves. 

All this time the American officers had not been 
far behind the men in their efforts to regain their 
liberty. Captains Thayer and Lockwood early se- 
duced a sentinel, and through him received some 
heavy clubs and the countersign. They were to pass 
out of the chamber window on the fourth story of the 
setninary, and to reach the ground by a rope made 
out of their blankets, but they were too closely watched 
and their plan had to be abandoned. It was the 
26th day of April before another opportunity offered, 
and this scheme was even more dangerous to put 
into execution than the first. 

Thayer, after two months' patient labor, cut away 



278 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

with a kiiifo tbo ])laiiks wliirli were spiked on a door 
through whicli they could pass by a dormer window 
into the garret. Thence by a ladder and a jump of 
about fourteen feet they could I'each the yard, where 
the same sentinel they had won over, armed with a 
gun and clul)s for the prisoners, was to meet them. 
If they could not then pass four sentinels with the 
countersign, they were to deal with them as best they 
could, and push for the sally port. From the grand 
battery they expected to leap thirty feet into the snow, 
and make a dash for the American camp through St. 
Koque. But, with the ill fortune with which every 
et¥ort of Arnold's men seemed fated, their prepara- 
tions were discovered at the eleventh hour by a priest 
of the seminary, who reported them to the officer of 
the guard. Thayer was accused, and unwilling to 
implicate any of his fellow officers, was carried aboard 
the armed vessel of Captain Laforce, and closely kept 
in the hold, both liandcuiTed and ironed, lying at 
night on a plank on the truckling of a cable covered 
with three feet of ice. The deck was so low that he 
was obliged constantly to stoop, and had no room to 
walk more than two or three steps. His limbs swelled, 
so that the irons had to be cut from him and replaced 
with larger ones. 

A few days afterwards, Lockwood and Handchett 
were noticed conversing with the sentinel, and upon 
the soldier being examined and making confession, 
they received a call from ]\Iajor Caldwell, Colonel 
McLean, and other officers, by w^liom they were taken 
aboard the vessel where Thayer was confined, and 



PRISONERS OF WAR 279 

stowed away in the hold with him. All three re- 
mained in this cruel condition until the siege was 
raised on May 6, when they were brought back to 
their fellow officers. The sentinel was later sent to 
England in irons. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

A HOPELESS SIEGE 

While tliese adventures were befalling the pris- 
oners within the walls of Quebec, the siege obstinately 
maintained by a force too weak to assume the offen- 
sive dragged uneventfully on. Arnold's wound slowly 
but steadily hnproved, and before February was far 
advanced he was able to hobble about his room with ^ 
the aid of a cane or a crutch. By the end of the 
month he could go out-of-doors, and give the encour- 
agement of his actual physical presence to the little 
army which his indomitable spirit, exerted from a bed 
of suffering and helplessness, had held sternly to its 
duty through the weeks of discouragement and grief 
which followed the fatal New Year's eve assault. As 
he passed among the groups of ragged and shivering 
soldiers they greeted him with cheers and congratu- 
lations, hailing him by his new title of General; for 
news had recently reached the camp that Congress, 
in recognition of his services in the march through 
the wilderness and the siege of Quebec, had voted 
him the commission of a brigadier-general. 

The good will of the men, which Arnold seems to 
have possessed, must have been grateful to his ardent 
nature, always sensitive to the affection or enmity 
of those about him; but he did not find an equally 

(280) 



A HOPELESS SIEGE 281 

responsive feeling among some of his subordinate 
officers. Captain Handchett and the other officers of 
his own detachment with whom he had quarreled 
were now prisoners in Quebec, but there were those 
among the besiegers who had sympathized with them, 
or who, as members of Montgomery's expedition, did 
not relish the idea of taking orders from the young 
Connecticut militia officer whom they considered in 
no way their superior, either in experience or native 
ability. One of the most troublesome of these was 
Major Brown, whom the disaffected companies of 
Arnold's detachment had pitched upon for their 
commander if they could have persuaded Montgomery 
to form them into an independent battalion. Major 
Brown was a western Massachusetts man, a friend 
and a comrade-in-arms of that Colonel Easton who, 
as the reader will remember, had been kicked by 
Arnold from his room at Crown Point, and had, there- 
fore, little reason to be especially well disposed toward 
his fiery commanding officer. The friction between 
the two men began early, and seems never to have 
abated so long as they remained in close and daily 
association. As early as the 1st of February we find 
Arnold thus expressing himself in a letter to John 
Hancock, president of the Continental Congress in 
Philadelphia : 

Major John Brown, who came down with General Mont- 
gomery with one hundred and sixty men collected from 
different regiments, now assumes and insists on the title of 
Colonel, which he says the General promised him at Mon- 
treal. Some time before his death, when Major Brown 



282 ARNOLD'S KXPKDTTIOX 'I'O (^JKIiEC 

wrote to ri'iniiul him of his promise, the General lianded 
me his hMtei-, ;ni(l tohl mc at tlie same time, as Colonel 
Easton and .Major Brown were pulilicly impeached with 
plundering' the ol"licei-s' baj^^aiiie taken at Sorel, contrary to 
articles of capitulation, and to the g:reat scandal of the 
American ai-my, he could not in conscience or honor pro- 
mote him (]\Iajor Brown) until those matters were cleared 
up. lie then sent for ]\Iajor Brown and told him his senti- 
ments in the matter very freely, after which I heard of no 
further application for promotion. This transaction, Colonel 
Campbell, Major Duboys, and several gentlemen were know- 
ing to. As Colonel Easton and Major Brown have doubt- 
less a sufficient store of modest merit to apply to the Con- 
tinental Congress for promotion, I think it my duty to say 
the charge before mentioned is the public topic of conver- 
sation at IMontreal, and among the officers of the army in 
general, and as such conduct is unbecoming the character 
of gentlemen, or soldiers, I believe it would give great dis- 
gust to the army in general if those gentlemen were pro- 
moted before those matters were cleared up. The contents 
of the enclosed letter I do not wish to be kept from the 
gentlemen mentioned therein ; the public interest is my 
motive for writing. B. Arnold. 

On the other hand, it is evident that Major Brown 
believed that Arnold was not using him fairly, and 
suspected that his general's enmit\'' might go so far 
as to compass the deliberate sacrifice of his life, 
through exposure to especial and unnecessary perils. 
Some weeks after this letter of Arnold's had been 
dispatched to Philadelphia— on the 15th of March, 
to be precise— Brown wrote to his wife in Pitts- 
field: 



A HOPELESS SIEGE 283 

Genl. Arnold and I do not agree very well— I expect 
another storm soon; suppose I must be a Uriah. We had 
an alarm yesterday. The enemy made a sally on our work- 
ing party, it was said with five hundred men. Genl. Arnold 
immediately ordered me, being on the advanced post, to at- 
tack them with my detachment, which consists of about 
200, more than half of which were sick in hospital. I ac- 
cordingly marched against the Enemy, who had retired into 
the port too soon for me to attack them. I expect to be 
punished for Disobedience of orders next; on the whole we 
are in an indifferent situation at present. I suppose all 
letters are broken open before they reach the Colonies, but 
as this goes by a friend it will come safe. I am solicited 
to stay another year as Lt. Colonel, but have refused— shall 
I consent? 

From this and other letters bearing on the same 
question, it is not difficult to guess at the origin of 
the dissension among Arnold's officers. It becomes 
apparent that one serious grievance which both Hand- 
chett and Brown had against Arnold was what they 
believed, or pretended to believe, was his intention 
to rid himself of them by exposing them to the enemy. 
In the letter of Brown just quoted he writes that he 
' ' must be a Uriah. ' ' Handchett 's reluctance to do the 
duty assigned to him has already sufficiently appeared. 
It is certain, however, that other officers were ready 
and eager to do the duty to which Handchett took 
exception, while it is plain, from Montgomery's letter 
to Schuyler, in which he alludes to this disagreement, 
that he sympathized with Arnold and disapproved 
heartily of the course pursued by Handchett. In view 



284 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

of these facts, which must liave been well known to 
Congress, whicli was also aware of the unanswered 
charge of peculation which lay against Easton and 
Brown, it must strike the reader as strange that within 
six weeks of Arnold's letter to John Hancock, Brown 
wrote to his wife, confidentially, that he was repelling 
offers of promotion. There were evidently influences 
at work in Congress which were, to say the least, 
openly friendly to those whom Arnold considered with 
justice his enemies. AVhat they were cannot be 
clearly seen, though it would be strange if so many 
commissioned and field officers could not enlist some 
weighty support in behalf of their own side of the 
case. Aaron Burr, too, it may be added, had con- 
ceived a strong dislike for Arnold before the cam- 
paign was over. Tact, apparently, was not one of 
the new general's virtues. 

May we not find in these controversies the reason 
why Arnold thought it necessary to lead in person 
the assaulting column at Sault au Matelot? Can we 
not see already the origin of that coalition of enemies 
which is said to have been responsible for the injus- 
tice and ingratitude with which A.rnold in after years 
claimed to have been treated, and which helped to 
poison his spirit till it sickened, through treason, and 
died within him? Some day, let us hope, the evi- 
dence will be found whereby the scales of historical 
justice may weigh out and establish forever the 
truth as between Arnold and these early and in- 
veterate enemies. 

Harassed by jealousies among his subordinates 



A HOPELESS SIEGE 285 

and uneasy at the weakness of his force, Arnold 
nevertheless seems never to have considered for a 
moment the abandonment of the enterprise. Indeed 
we find him writing hopefully to Washington in Feb- 
ruary : ' ' The repeated successes of our raw, undisci- 
plined troops over the flower of the British army, the 
many unexpected and remarkable occurrences in our 
favor, are plain proofs of the overruling hand of 
Providence, and justly demand our warmest gratitude 
to Heaven, which I make no doubt will crown our 
virtuous efforts with success." 

But his letters to Congress constantly appealed for 
reinforcements sufficient to put his army on something 
like an equality with the force it was besieging, and 
begged no less persistently that some general of 
greater experience and abilities than he could pretend 
to should be sent to assume command before Quebec. 
The difficulties and embarrassment of his position had 
begun to daunt even his sanguine spirit. 

The physical condition of the patriot soldiers was 
increasingly bad. Smallpox still ravaged the camp, 
and the field hospital between Sillery and Wolfe's 
Cove was always full of its victims. At one time 
no less than fifty— nearly 10 per cent of the whole 
force— were sick with the malady. The discovery of 
vaccination had not been made at this time, and in- 
oculation was forbidden in the army, but so great 
was the dread of the loathsome disease that many 
inoculated themselves, secretly, by pricking in the 
poisonous matter under their finger-nails. Some reck- 
less and desperate men did this in order to escape 



286 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION To QUEBEC 

in tlic lidspKal tlie severe duty wiiicli was exacted 
I'roiu them in canip. 

Tlie suffering of the troops— or " Congreganists," as 
the French-Canadians now called them— from hunger, 
was hardly less than that of the prisoners within the 
city. At Three Eivers they begged for food from door 
to door, and the sight of their misery won succor 
even from the loyalists. In si)ite of their tempta- 
tions, pillage or riot was promptly checked by the 
officers, and it is doubtful if a hostile army ever 
restrained its passions on foreign soil more success- 
fully. 

Though they could have had little to fear from 
an enemy so weak in numbers and in the physical 
strength of its units, the garrison did not a whit relax 
their vigilance; fireballs were lighted at one o'clock 
and kept burning on the angles of the bastions till 
three o'clock in the morning, and were often thrown 
out by mortars. Lanterns suspended from long poles 
were extended over the ditch, and lighted it so well 
that even a dog might have been seen at the bottom 
of it. By the 9th of March they had one hundred 
and fourteen guns mounted, not counting any cannon 
less than six-pounders, nor mortars, nor cohorns. 
Twice they sallied in force, as the Americans thought, 
to capture the cannon near the General Hospital; in 
reality to enable the people to gather firewood in 
their rear. They retired as the Americans boldly 
advanced to meet them. The British had one real 
cause of anxiety— should the winter continue so severe, 
the Eiver St. Lawrence might freeze from shore to 



A HOPELESS SIEGE 287 

shore. To guard even against this, they replaced 
some of the guns on the shipping in the cul-de-sac, 
mounted guns on the wharves, cut a trench to clear 
water at Pres de Ville, and destroyed the houses on 
both sides of Sault au Matelot street, lest they might 
again furnish cover for the enemy. It might at least 
have flattered the vanity of Arnold and his half- 
starved and shivering battalions that Carleton showed 
such cautious respect for them, even in the time of 
their greatest feebleness and discouragement. 

Early in March the reinforcements which Congress 
had despatched began to arrive in camp, a regiment 
of three hundred and forty men from Pennsylvania 
being the first. These men wore the uniforms which 
Congress had prescribed— brown with buff facings, 
with mittens, knapsacks, and haversacks of Russian 
duck; their stockings were protected by leggings, and 
they carried firelocks, wooden canteens, and toma- 
hawks. On January 23 the leading company of this 
regiment under Captain Jonathan Jones had begun at 
Philadelphia its long march of six hundred miles in 
the dead of winter. Hastening forward on foot, or on 
sleds, where the patriotism of the country through 
which they passed would furnish them, they crossed 
the Delaware on the ice, took the eastern route, and 
reached Albany in eleven days. Thence up the Hud- 
son, and across country, they made their way to 
Fort George, and on the ice of the lake, again, to 
Ticonderoga. There were no roads on either side of 
Lake Champlain. They left the last of their sleds 
at Ticonderoga, and made the rest of the journey with 



288 ARXOr.D'S EXPEDITIOX TO QUP:BEC 

their provisions on Iheir l)a('k.s, over snow and ice, 
np Lake Cbamplain and the Sorel River to St. John's. 
Though their jirovisions did not fail them, the country 
was almost as wild and desolate as that of the Upper 
Kennebec, and their sufferings from exposure were 
hardly less than those of Arnold's men. Their anns, 
accoutrements, and dress when they arrived at La 
Prairie, eighteen miles from St. John's, could not 
have been in much worse condition. They arrived at 
Montreal frost-bitten, footsore and exhausted, with 
sjiirits hardly less depressed than those of the vet- 
erans to whose assistance they had come. After a 
fortnight's rest at Montreal, they pushed on to join 
Arnold. 

From this time reinforcements constantly made 
their appearance from New England, New York, New 
Jersey, and even further south. But they came in 
small bodies, and so complete was the wreck of 
Montgomery's and Arnold's army that for some time 
the fresh arrivals only closed up the gaps made by 
the smallpox and the hardships to which the veterans 
of the campaign had been exposed. 

On March 14 another flag of truce was sent to 
the city, but it was met as all the others had been. 
' ' No flag will be received, ' ' said the guard, ' ' unless it 
comes to implore the mercy of the King." The next 
day the garrison planted on the walls near St. John's 
gate a great wooden horse, with a bundle of hay 
before it, and the inscription, ' * "When this horse has 
eaten this bunch of hay we will surrender." Further 
to emphasize their vigilance and their defiance of the 



A HOPELESS SIEGE 289 

besiegers, the British erected on Cape Diamond a 
post thirty feet high with a kind of sentry, or look- 
out, box thereon, from which the officers, with their 
glasses, could see St. Foy church and the stretch of 
road leading to the city, and even the Holland House 
and bodies of troops moving in its vicinity. But 
the plains beyond Gallows Hill were still hidden 
from view. There, even in daylight, the Americans 
might conceal a great number of men. Therefore 
the British, though aware that reinforcements were 
strengthening the provincials, could form no ac- 
curate estimate of the number of fresh troops that 
had arrived. 

On the 17th of March the Irishmen in the Amer- 
ican army, who were pretty numerous, saw to it that 
St. Patrick's day did not pass unhonored. Not even 
cold and hunger could dampen their boisterous spirits, 
and they set out to march about the country, carry- 
ing muskets and sabers, each with a sprig of fir in 
his cap, the officers wearing cockades in addition. A 
drum and fife corps led the march, and for a flag a 
ragged silk handkerchief was tied to the top of a fir 
tree above two crossed bayonets. They marched to 
the nunnery at Three Rivers, which they serenaded 
and cheered; then they returned to camp, pausing 
before the houses of royalist adherents to swear and 
be sworn at, and before the houses of well-dis- 
posed Canadians to raise a lusty cheer. The proces- 
sion ended at the residence of one M. Laframboise, 
who either from sympathy with the cause or from 
motives of policy, caused two demijohns of rum to 

19 



290 ARNOLD'S KXPEDTTToX TO (QUEBEC 

bo given to the rank and file, wliile he regaled the 
officers on more exjiensive liciuors. 

On ]\rarch 25, information was received that Cana- 
dian loyalists to the number of some three hundred 
and fifty were assembling under the leadership of 
Monsieur P)eaujeu, a former captain in the Canadian 
militia, in the parishes to the south of Quebec, intend- 
ing to throw themselves into the city for its relief 
by crossing the St. Lawrence from the southern shore 
near Point Levi. Measures were at once taken to 
offer check to this move. A scouting i)arty of fifty 
men advanced bj* J^eaujeu to feel the way for his main 
body and led by Sieur CouUard and a j\Ir. Bailly, a 
priest, having advanced as far as the jDarish of St. 
Pierre, were surrounded in a house by a large i^arty 
of rebel (Canadians, with one hundred and fifty Amer- 
icans, under Major Dubois, who had been detached 
from the camp at Quebec. The royalists, in spite of 
the disparity of their numbers, showed fight, but after 
two of their party had been killed and ten wounded, 
surrendered. In this affair it is said that fathers 
fought against sons and sons against fathers, and so 
bitter was the feeling of the Canadians that, but for 
the interference of the Americans, the prisoners would 
have been massacred even after the surrender. The 
effect of the reverse was such that Captain Beaujeu 
was obliged to disband his levies and go into hiding 
to escape capture. 

During the closing days of the month, a number 
of cannon, some as large as twenty-four pounders, 
and a plentiful supply of ammunition arrived from 



A HOPELESS SIEGE 291 

General Wooster, whom Montgomery had left in com- 
mand at Montreal. Close behind this welcome offer- 
ing came the General himself. He had left Montreal in 
charge of one Moses Hazen, a renegade officer of his 
Majesty's service, who had been given a commission 
in the Continental army, and as Arnold's superior 
officer at once assumed direction of the army and its 
operations. It was the 1st day of April when he 
reached the camp, and on that very night the sig- 
nals, which by arrangement, as the reader will re- 
member, the prisoners in the Dauphin jail were to 
display if their plan succeeded, were seen to blaze up 
behind the ramparts of the Upper Town. 

Arnold, now able to ride his horse, wished to 
advance at once to their support, but Wooster refused 
his assent, either from the cautious temper which be- 
came his age, or because he suspected some trap. 
Fortune, for once, had favored the Americans by the 
opportune arrival and decision of Wooster, for Gov- 
ernor Carleton, informed by the deserter Hall of the 
prearranged signals, had been wily enough to organize 
a sham combat, to build bonfires to imitate the signal 
of burning buildings, and even to counterfeit the suc- 
cess of the prisoners by lusty cheers at St. John's 
gate, while his troops were massed to receive the 
unsuspecting rebels, and his cannon, loaded with 
grape and canister, were trained on the ground over 
which they must approach. To Wooster 's caution 
alone was owing the failure of this grim April fool's 
day joke. 

A few days later Arnold, his leg again crippled by a 



292 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

fall from liis horse, and Imit Ijecause General Wooster 
did not show him what he tliought proj^er considera- 
tion, asked to be relieved, and retired on the 12tli of 
April to Montreal, to convalesce. He wrote home in 
explanation of this action, ' ' Had I been able to take 
any active ])art, I should, by no means, have left 
cam]), but as General AVooster did not think proper 
to consult me, I am convinced I shall be more use- 
ful here than in camp, and he very readily granted 
me leave of absence." 

This was the ineffectual end of all Arnold's gal- 
lant hopes and patriotic endeavors for the reduction 
of the fortress of Quebec and the conquest of Canada. 
He took no further part in the siege of the cit>% and 
was forced in inactivity to see the enterprise for 
which he and his brave comrades had sacrificed and 
suffered so much, crumble day by day into more 
hopeless disaster. He reached Montreal, however, in 
time to welcome the arrival of a committee appointed 
by Congress to engage in friendly intercession and 
conciliation with those Canadians who still held alle- 
giance to the King and considered the colonial troops 
enemies and invaders. Benjamin Franklin, Samuel 
Chase and Charles Carroll of Carrollton composed the 
committee, which was accompanied by the ]\Iost Rev- 
erend John Carroll, Archbishop of Baltimore, who 
was expected to add weight to its appeal to the French 
Roman Catholics. 

The task of receiving these distinguished men in 
a manner calculated to flatter tliem and impress the 
Canadian public was one which Arnold doubtless 



A HOPELESS SIEGE 293 

found quite to his taste. The committee were at 
once conducted to his headquarters, the imposing 
mansion of the Canadian rebel, Thomas Walker, 
where they were received, as Carroll tells us, in a 
most polite and friendly manner by the General and 
' ' a genteel company of ladies and gentlemen who had 
assembled ' ' there. 

But the envoys arrived too late to be of any real 
service to the cause they represented. The lines were 
already strictly drawn, and as spring approached the 
inevitable collapse of the siege of Quebec began to be 
foreseen by rebel sympathizers as well as by loyalists 
and those shrewd trimmers who were prepared to 
follow either flag to victory. Franklin, who was past 
seventy years of age, suffered so much from exposure 
on the journey that after ten days spent at Mon- 
treal he was obliged to return. The others made a 
longer stay, but had no substantial results to show 
for their labors. 

Meanwhile the troops before Quebec, now increased 
to about two thousand effectives, with several hun- 
dred men still on the sick list, began with the advent 
of spring to make some efforts to throw off the 
inertia which defeat, sickness and cold had bred 
within them. They even became once more aggres- 
sive. During the month of April, although obliged 
to work on snow-shoes part of the time,— for even 
as late as the 3d of May snow covered the ground— 
they erected and opened a battery of three twelve- 
pounders and one eight-inch howitzer at Point Levi, 
and another on a slight elevation known as ''Les 



204 AKNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

Buttes a Neveu," ou the Heights of Abraham opi)o- 
site St. Louis gate, within four hundred yards of 
tlie walls. This battcrj' mounted one twenty-four 
pounder, four twelve-})ounders, two six-pounders and 
two howitzers. A third battery of two guns, called 
''Smith's," on a point of land near the mouth of the 
St. Charles, upon the opposite bank to the city, had 
been playing intermittently and abortively since the 
22d of January. Still, even the heavier ordnance 
they now possessed made no im])ression on the mas- 
sive walls of the city— their red-hot shots did no 
perceptible damage— and at length the continuous 
and accurate fire of the garrison compelled them 
to dismantle their batteries and drag off their guns. 
They had hit and injured some of the shipping, and 
wounded some of those on board, but doubtless did 
not then know that they had done so. 

The utter failure of the artillery to produce any 
results whatever was a source of deep discourage- 
ment to the Americans. The project of another as- 
sault upon the fortifications of the town seems never 
to have been seriously entertained, but no little reli- 
ance had been placed upon the ability of the heavier 
ordnance supplied by General Wooster to batter a 
breach in the defenses, and subject the city to all 
the terrors of an active bombardment. Disappointed 
in this expectation, the enthusiasm of the men flagged 
once more, and only the promise of fresh reinforce- 
ments kept hope alive and justified the stubborn 
prolongation of the siege. 

These reinforcements were looked for from various 



A HOPELESS SIEGE 295 

quarters. Washington had brought the investment of 
Boston to a victorious issue on the 17th of March, 
and a part of his army was therefore available for 
service in Canada. The regiments of Colonels Pat- 
terson, Bond, Graham, and Poor were immediately 
ordered to Quebec, by way of the Hudson River and 
Lake Champlain. All told, these regiments numbered 
only about eleven hundred men. A considerable force 
had also been collected at Port George under General 
Schuyler, who had recovered from his illness of the 
previous year, and waited only for the lakes to be 
clear of ice in order to commence the march to 
Quebec. This detachment included six companies of 
Connecticut troops, two companies of the 1st Penn- 
sylvania regiment, three companies of New Jersey 
troops, and two companies of Van Schaick's from 
New York. There were two more companies of New 
Jersey troops about thirty-five miles below Crown 
Point, on their way to Canada. The rest of the New 
Jersey regiment had crossed the boundary. Five 
companies of the 2d Pennsylvania regiment were at 
Fort Edward, waiting for the lake to open, and two 
companies of the 1st Pennsylvania were on their way 
from New York. 

It was evident that Quebec was a prize for which 
the large fleet of reinforcements already despatched 
from England, and the new army of the Americans 
were to race. Unfortunately for the latter, it was 
now the worst possible season of the year for its 
purposes. The lakes and rivers were not yet open 
for navigation, while the ice, which still covered 



'JOG ARNOLD'S EXPEDTTTON TO QUEBEC 

them, had grown too tliiii and rotten to bear the 
weight of an army in safety. On land the roads 
were rendered im])assable by the slush and mud 
whieli are the incvital)le aecom])animents of a wan- 
ing northern winter. Not only days, but weeks, were 
thus wasted in tedious and exasperating delays, until 
it became almost a certainty that the St. Lawrence 
would offer a clear road to the English sliips, long 
before Schuyler could ])ossibly ai)i)ear before Quebec. 
On the 1st of May, General John Thomas, the 
"hero of Dorchester Heights," who had been dis- 
l)atched to relieve Wooster, arrived in camp. Congress 
had appointed General Charles Lee to this duty earlier 
in the season, but that erratic and untrustworthy offi- 
cer—a traitor at heart, as recent discoveries have 
proved— had delayed liis departure on the plea of ill 
health, so long that in the end he was transferred to 
the Southern Department, and the command assigned 
to a more honorable and patriotic soldier. When 
Thomas arrived before Quebec, he found the Conti- 
nental army shrunken to about nineteen hundred 
men, of whom not much more than one thousand 
were fit for duty; furthermore nearly one-third of that 
number were preparing to depart, as their enlist- 
ment had expired on the 15th day of April. There 
were only one hundred and fifty pounds of powder 
and six days' rations in the encampment, no in- 
trenching tools and no competent engineers. The 
Canadians would no longer accept the paper money of 
Congress; their priests refused to confess those who 
joined the rebel ranks, and although the Yankees tried 



A HOPELESS SIEGE 297 

to checkmate them by hiring one Lotbiniere, a priest, 
for fifteen hundred livres per annum, and the promise 
to make him a bishop as soon as Quebec was taken, 
to confess all who applied to him, the refusal of 
priestly sanction and comfort continued a powerful 
factor in the struggle. Owing to the more apparent 
prospect of British success, the Canadians had experi- 
enced plainly a change of heart, while the indifferent 
success of their plans and hopes bred in the Americans 
a bitterness which made them less careful to preserve 
their attitude of friendship and conciliation. Spring 
was rapidly ripening the seeds of discontent and im- 
patience which the occupation of the country by the 
Americans had gradually sown during the winter. A 
general rising of the Canadians might be expected, 
should the anticipated reinforcements from England 
arrive. 



CHAPTER XIX 

TILE CAMPAIGN FAILS 

Such were the gloomy prospects wliicli General 
Thomas found awaiting him. Indeed it seemed a 
foregone conclusion that his talents and energies 
could only find employment in directing a retreat 
from a position fast becoming untenable. Before 
yielding to the inevitable, however, the besiegers de- 
termined to strike one more blow at the city which 
had so calmly defied their hostility. The river was 
by this time practically clear of ice, and it was de- 
cided to prepare and launch a fire-ship, which should 
be carried by wind or tide into the cul-de-sac at the 
Lower Town, to the destruction of all the shipping 
which lay there. It was also thought i^ossible that 
the fire might spread to the houses of the Lower 
Town, thus inflicting additional damage on the en- 
emy. Of this plan, as indeed of most of the other 
counsels of the Americans, Carleton received early 
and circumstantial infoniiation from a deserter. 

On May 3 the sentries on the walls of Quebec 
descried a ship approaching the city from below, 
and the news was quickly spread through the town. 
The vessel was at once hailed as the first of the fleet 
despatched from England, for although the wind and 
tide were both in the stranger's favor, it did not oc- 

(29S) 



THE CAMPAIGN FAILS 299 

cur to the citizens or the soldiers that a fire-ship would 
come except from above the town, borne on the cur- 
rent of the river. The ramparts of the Upper Town 
and the wharves of the Lower Town were soon thick 
with happy townspeople shouting to one another, 
' ' Navire ! Navire ! " "A ship ! A ship ! ' ' But to this 
shout of joy quickly succeeded cries of terror and 
consternation. There was an explosion, and from 
the strange vessel a cloud of smoke and sparks arose 
and drifted rapidly toward the town. A strong wind 
filled every sail and the fire-ship (a schooner, the 
property of Simon Fraser, captured by the rebels at 
the Isle of Orleans) threatened within a few moments 
to drive its flaming hulk, full of inflammable mate- 
rials, into the midst of the crowded shipping. 

The cannoneers rushed to their guns, and from 
the grand battery poured a storm of shot upon the 
blazing vessel, hoping to sink her. Then a boat con- 
taining those who had thus far navigated the fire-ship 
left her side and sped away toward Point Levi. In 
the universal confidence that the newcomer was a ship 
from England, she had been allowed to approach the 
cul-de-sac without the least opposition. The air was 
full of the smell of powder, of sulphur and of pitch, 
of smoke and flying cinders. The shipping, including 
thirty merchantmen, the frigate Lizard and the sloop 
Hunter, probably the Lower Town itself, seemed 
doomed. Another hundred yards passed and the 
purpose of the Americans would be effected. 

Certainly some jealous Homeric goddess must have 
protected Quebec, for even this triumph was denied 



300 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

at tlie last moment to tlie besiegers. Tlie sails of the 
iire-sliip caught fire, she steered wildly; the tide 
turned, and so strong an eddy caught her that al- 
though the wind was northeast she grounded on Beau- 
port Flats, where, helplessly, to the great joy of her 
enemies and the mortification of her friends, she vom- 
ited forth the last of her bellyful of bombs, grenades 
and squibs, and expired a charred and blackened fail- 
ure. Tlie garrison thought that during the expected 
confusion, the Americans were prepared to make a 
general assault, but this does not seem to have been 
the case. 

Three days later, between four and five in the 
morning, the Isis, a fifty-gun ship, commanded by 
Captain Charles Douglas, which had left Portland 
March 11, came into view from the beleaguered city. 
It was followed closely by the Martin, a sloop of 
war of fourteen guns, and by a third vessel, the ship 
Surprise, Captain Lindsey, which had sailed in com- 
pany with the Martin from Plymouth, ]\larch 20, 
forerunners of the expected British fleet. They 
had forced their way through the floating ice up the 
St. Lawrence, with great danger and difficulty. 

The citizens, half-dressed, ran down to the grand 
battery to feast their eyes on the joj^ous sight, while 
Captain Douglas's salute of twenty guns pealed out 
the death-knell of the rebel hopes, and the responsive 
volleys from the citadel and the clanging of all the 
bells in the city sang the Te Deum of the garrison 
and citizens. 

Sad, indeed, was the fate of Arnold's men in 



THE CAMPAIGN FAILS 301 

prison, more hopeless than ever their situation,— 
their enemies overwhehningly reinforced, the Ameri- 
can batteries already proven impotent, and their 
army about to be driven in disorder from the envi- 
rons of the city. Those were not the days when 
rebels were dealt with leniently; their outlook was a 
voyage to England, subject to all those indignities 
which Ethan Allen had suffered; a speedy trial, and 
if not death, a severe and perhaps a cruel sentence. 
As Colonel Greene, in his prison, listened to the tri- 
umphant strains of martial music rising from the 
Lower Town, where the redcoats were disembarking 
from the Isis and the Surprise, he was heard to ex- 
claim in so emphatic a tone that the words became a 
proverb among his men : ' ' I will never again be taken 
prisoner alive." 

Thomas had held a council of officers on the 
5th day of May, and decided upon a retreat, with 
the intention of making a stand at Deschambault or 
Jacques Cartier, which commanded a pass between 
two mountains, eleven leagues above Quebec. Upon 
the approach of the British ships, therefore, camp 
was broken with all speed and not without panic, 
for news came up the river that seven transports, 
carrying General Burgoyne, with thousands of British 
regulars and Hessians, were already near at hand. 
A force of about one thousand men, composed of 
the Royal Emigrants, two companies of the 29th 
regiment, two hundred marines, the Halifax artif- 
icers, and some of the English and French militia, 
in two divisions, six columns deep, with four brass 



:^02 AliXOLD'S EXI'KDTTTOX 'I'O QrKliEC 

six-i)oini(l(>rs, one division under Carleton, the other 
coiiunaiided by McLean, sallied tliat very day, at 
noon, by the gates St. John and St. Louis. How- 
ever, they moved out with a caution most flattering 
lo the Americans, and advanced carefully, though 
greeted by only a few scattered shots, to the scene of 
the battle of April 28, 1760, where ]\Iurray almost 
lost to the Chevalier de Levis what Wolfe had died to 
gain. Here they exj)ected battle would be offered 
them. On their way, they burnt the houses which 
had alTorded shelter to the Americans, and an ad- 
vance i^artj^, under Captain Nairn, of McLean's reg- 
iment, advanced upon the two batteries near the 
city. 

Meantime, General Thomas and the Xew England 
officers were trying to the full extent of their power 
to form their men, who were hurriedly assembling at 
their respective quarters; but when the British opened 
with their field i:>ieces upon a scant rear-guard of 
some two hundred and fifty men hastily formed to 
cover the retreat, the greater number of the troops 
broke and fled with their baggage, in many cases 
throwing away their muskets and bayonets. The 
batteries were abandoned, and seized by Nairn. 

Colonel Maxwell of the Pennsylvanians succeeded 
in forming nine hundred men in ambush to meet the 
enemy, but receiving orders from Thomas to retire, 
joined in the general retreat. Some of the Pennsyl- 
vania troops lost all their baggage, and did not have 
time to save even their provisions. The artillery, 
the camp equipments, most of the ammunition, and 



THE CAMPAIGN FAILS 303 

some valuable papers were abandoned, and many of 
the sick were left to the mercy of the enemy. 

Fortunately, the British did not quickly follow up 
their advantage, their intention having been merely 
to demolish the batteries and not to bring on a gen- 
eral engagement. But upon sight of a small force of 
Americans preparing to meet them, and many others 
in full retreat, they formed a line of battle; the Fusi- 
leers and Emigrants on the right, the British militia 
and sailors on the left, with the newcomers of the 
29th in the center. The French were formed as a 
corps-de-reserve, in the rear. Then, upon the disap- 
pearance of the Americans, McLean's regiment, the 
Royal Emigrants, sat down to eat the dinner of the 
American general, which they found ready upon his 
table. The Surprise and Martin were sent up the 
river, where they recaptured the Gaspe, half prepared 
as a fire-ship, and the schooner Mary, and took a few 
prisoners, but no further advance was made that day 
by the British land force, and their war vessels were 
constrained by contrary conditions of navigation to 
drop their anchors a little below the Falls of Riche- 
lieu. Meanwhile the Americans retreated about twelve 
miles on the 6th and thirty miles more on the 7th. 

Concerned, as we are, only with the fortunes of 
Arnold's men — the Cambridge detachment — we are 
spared the disappointing chronicle of succeeding 
events. We should have to describe how General 
Thomas first prepared to make a stand at Descham- 
bault, then evacuated it, gave ground again, and con- 
tinued his retreat across the St. Lawrence to Sorel: 



304 ARNOLD'S EXPlCDmOX TO QUEBEC 

liow, contending with eveiy difficulty in tireless efforts 
to provision his army and resist that terrible scourge 
smallpox, he at last contracted the disease himself, 
and died at Chambly; how Arnold with his little gar- 
rison of three hundred men abandoned ^lontreal to 
join Thomas, as Burgoyne and the troops of the King 
advanced towards Three Rivers; how, after a union 
with the new army of thirty-five hundred men under 
General John Sullivan, and some of those reinforce- 
ments which, owing to the severity of the weather and 
the ice on the lakes, had been too late in coming to 
the rescue, Canada was finally evacuated in June, 
1776, after some skinnishing which resulted in hu- 
miliating American defeats at the Cedars and at 
Three Rivers. 

Thus was British America lost to the Sisterhood 
of States, or, as Lieutenant Ainslie, of the Quebec 
garrison would have it, ' ' Thus was the country 
round Quebec freed from a swarm of misguided 
people, led by designing men, enemies to the liberty 
of their country, under the specious title of the 
Asserters of American Rights." Captain Matthew 
Smith and Lieutenant Simpson of Arnold's detach- 
ment, who were stationed on the Isle of Orleans, 
having no timely information of the decision to re- 
treat, lost some of their men by capture, though 
Smith himself escaped. They were brought to the 
Dauphin jail, and from them the prisoners learned 
details and incidents of the winter blockade, of the 
progress of which the gossip of the guard and the 
intermittent cannonade had most uncertainly ad- 



THE CAMPAIGN FAILS 305 

vised them. The Americans at Point Levi and 
Charlesbourg escaped as best they could through the 
woods— for their first knowledge of the retreat was 
the sight of the hurried breaking of the camp on the 
Plains of Abraham. It was to meet their case and 
that of others like them that Carleton later issued 
proclamation, essentially humane, in spite of its 
somewhat arrogant wording : 

"Whereas I am informed that many of His Majesty's 
deluded subjects of the neighboring Provinces, laboring 
under wounds and divers disorders, are dispersed in the 
adjoining woods and Parishes, and in great danger of per- 
ishing from want of proper assistance, all Captains and 
other officers of militia are hereby commanded to make dili- 
gent search for all such distressed persons, and afford them 
all necessary relief, and convey them to the General Hos- 
pital, where proper care shall be taken of them. All rea- 
sonable expenses which shall be incurred in complying with 
these orders shall be paid by the Receiver General. And 
lest a consciousness of past offenses should deter these mis- 
erable wretches from receiving that assistance which their 
distressed situation may require, I hereby make known to 
them that as soon as their health is returned, they shall 
have free liberty to return to their respective Provinces. 

How much response this proclamation met with 
there are no records to show; probably it saved some 
lives and no little suffering. At all events the spirit 
of humanity which dictated it, a spirit which Carleton 
showed on more than one other occasion, deserves a 
word of appreciation. 

20 



306 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

We have now only to recount tlie further experi- 
ences of our pool' piisoncrs of war in the Seminary 
of Laval and the J)auphin jail. After their friends, 
the besiegers, had decamped, the prisoners gave up 
all hope of being retaken and even of ever seeing 
their families again, but tliey now received fresh food, 
and the comi)arative freedom they were allowed ren- 
dered their condition more tolerable, although the 
scurvy and other distempers, contracted during the 
long and rigid confinement, still tormented them. 
About the 15th of May, Colonel McLean, with some 
of the officers who had just arrived with the fleet from 
England, entered the Dau]ihin jail about midday. 
Captain Prentice, by direction of Colonel McLean, 
pointed out to these officers those who had been named 
to him as the leaders in the proposed outbreak. The 
blacksmith was then ordered to remove the prisoners' 
irons. After the officers had departed he said to the 
captives, ' ' Come, come, gentlemen, you can now put 
of¥ your irons." In a moment they were free, and 
the shackles were never again put upon their limbs. 

Major Meigs, on the 16th of May, was paroled and 
allowed to go home, a favor which seems to have been 
accorded him because he saved the life of a British 
officer, probably Laws, on the night of the assault. 
Captain Dearborn also secured a parole and was sent 
home about the same time on account of continued 
illness. On the 5th of June, Carleton, with a number 
of his officers, visited the prisoners again, and after 
inquiring kindly for their welfare, suggested that if he 
could rely upon their honor, he might accept their pa- 



THE CAMPAIGN FAILS 307 

role and send them home. They lost no time in send- 
ing him the following reply: 

We, the prisoners in his Majesty's gaols, return Your 
Excellency our most happy and unfeigned thanks for your 
clemency and goodness to us whilst in prison. Being sen- 
sible of your humanity, we give Your Excellency thanks for 
your offer made us yesterday, and having a desire to return 
to our friends and families again, we promise not to take 
up arms against his Majesty, but remain peaceable and 
quiet in our respective places of abode, and we further 
assure your Excellency that you may depend upon our 
fidelity. 

So we remain your Excellency's humble servants. 

On the following day the officers also petitioned 
the Governor in behalf of the private soldiers in the 
Dauphin jail, begging that some measures should be 
taken for their relief, and that if possible they should 
be allowed to return to their families, ' * many of whom 
must be reduced to the deepest distress." But the 
Governor changed his mind and answered both these 
petitions in the negative, and though the officers later 
addressed a second petition to him, a parole which 
they could accept, that is to say, one which omitted 
the words, *'We will never take up arms against his 
Majesty," was not oifered them, nor were arrange- 
ments made for their departure from Quebec until 
the 11th of August. Then men and officers were 
allowed to give their parole, and in five transports 
convoyed by the frigate Pearl, under Captain McKen- 
zie, they sailed for New York and home. Lamb, 



308 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

Morgan, Oswald, Steele, McAlister, McCleaii, Iletb, 
Bruen, Wister, Duncan, McGuire, Porterfield, Moody, 
and Nichols were on the shi]) Loi-d Sandwich; Greene 
and others on the John and Christoi)lier; Colonel 
Irvine, with a number of comrades, on the Prince of 
Wales; and the remainder of the i)risoners on the 
Mermaid and a fifth vessel. 

Carleton generously presented the officers on board 
each transport with a cask of wine and five shee)) 
for sea stores, and the Bishop of Quebec also con- 
tributed two casks of wine, eight loaves of sugar, and 
several pounds of green tea. The tea was respect- 
fully and with dignity declined, and the Bishop, with 
true Christian spirit, sent coffee instead. To each of 
the rank and file Carleton sent a shirt, a garment 
sadly needed by most of them, and also advanced 
money to supply the immediate necessities of many 
of the men and officers. 

After a voyage of a full month the fleet of trans- 
ports hove to off Sandy Hook, on the 11th and 12th 
of September, 1776, in plain view of the British 
encampment on Staten Island and the fleet of about 
four hundred vessels and transports in the harbor. 
One man, Thomas Garver by name, died on the voy- 
age. Sergeant Thomas Gibson and another young 
fellow of Hendricks's company, John Blair, determined 
to escape from their ship, which was anchored three 
miles south of Governor's Island. Dressed only in 
shirts and trousers, they went forward into the fore- 
castle, where there happened to be two large New- 
foundland dogs; these they set to fighting and, hav- 



THE CAMPAIGN FAILS 309 

ing thus engaged the sailors, they returned to the 
stern of the vessel, stripped off their clothes and 
jumped into the water. They swam to the boat 
under the stern of the ship, secured her, and had 
rowed a thousand yards before the boat was missed. 
Upon their discovery the other boats of the vessel 
were sent out after the fugitives, but they had too 
long a start. After rowing about five miles, naked, 
they landed at Bergen's Neck, where they bartered 
their boat for some clothing. They then went to 
Washington's headquarters, but their exploit met 
with his disapproval, as they had given their parole. 

After a year of manful struggle with adversity for 
the cause of their country, the shattered remnant of 
Arnold's brave battalions at last gazed upon their 
native shores. Defeat and mortification greeted them 
even here, for they saw New York in flames, and 
their compatriots evacuating it. After a week of ex- 
asperating delay they were allowed to land about 
three miles from Elizabethtown, and made their way 
as best they could to their widely separated homes. 

Out of Thayer's company, which left Cambridge 
with eighty-seven men, including officers, the cap- 
tain, one lieutenant, and nine of the rank and file 
remained. Of Morgan's company of ninety-six Vir- 
ginians, not more than twenty-five ever reached their 
homes. The two Pennsylvania companies of riflemen 
made hardly a better showing, while the remaining 
New England companies, who continued to advance 
after the council of war on the Dead Eiver, had like- 
wise been decimated again and again by exposure. 



310 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

disease and the hand of the enemy. Many of those 
who survived for a time after their return would have 
exclaimed with Henry, as he closes his narrative ol 
his experiences: ''AVould to Clod my extreme suffer- 
ings had then ended a life w^hicli since has been a 
tissue of labor, pain, and misery;" but many also 
doubtless shared with Private Abner Stocking, another 
survivor of the expedition, the devout feelings with 
which his return to the home he had hardly dared 
hope again to see, inspired him : 

Never di<l my thanks to my Creator and Preserver arise 
with more sincerity than at tlio present moment. IIow 
kind has been that Providence which has preserved me 
through so many dangers and sufferings, and returned me 
in health and safety to the bosom of my friends. When 
wandering through the AYilderness, faint, hungry and weary, 
God was my support, and did not suffer me, like others, 
to fall by the wayside; when sick and in prison he visited 
me, when a captive he set me free. ]\Iay I ever be grateful 
to my Divine Protector, and may my future life be devoted 
to his service ! 

Such was the simple piety of many of that de- 
voted little army. On the stem but confident 
religion of their youth, taught them under the white 
steeples of their village meeting-houses, they leaned, 
full of faith, as upon a strong staff, in the days of 
hunger, cold, and wretchedness in the wilderness, 
and in the weary hours of disease and defeat before 
the fortress city of Quebec. To this, and to the noble 
sentiment of patriotism which glowed in every heart. 



THE CAMPAIGN FAILS 311 

we must attribute the fortitude and the dauntless 
courage which supported them throughout all their 
labors, sufferings and disappointments. 

Surely they have deserved an earlier historian 
and a worthier pen than mine, and from their country 
a more fitting memorial than the simple shaft tardily 
erected with private funds on the ground where the 
riflemen camped at Old Newbury ! 



APPENDIX A 

A BIBLIOGKAPHICAL LIST OF CONTEMPORARY 
JOURNALS 

The following list gives some information concern- 
ing all of the journals describing Arnold's march 
through the wilderness or the siege of Quebec, the 
existence of which was known to the author of this 
volume. A part have attained actual publication, 
others have been printed for private distribution, 
while a few are to be found only in the worn and 
tattered manuscript of the men who wrote them a 
hundred and twenty-five years ago. They constitute 
a fairly large and invariably interesting body of his- 
torical material, which preserves unimpaired the quaint 
individuality of their widely diverse authors, and the 
unmistakable color and atmosphere of a period which 
must always be of particular importance to the stu- 
dent of American history. The reader will find much 
to entertain him in any of these journals to which he 
may be able to gain access. 

AMERICAN JOURNALS 

Arnold's Journal. This Journal was left by Arnold 
at West Point, when he fled on hearing of the capture of 
Andre, and was found among his papers by Judge Pierpont 

(313) 



314 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

Edwards, of Cnniiecticnt, wlio was appointed to administer 
upon the },'oods and estate of Ai-nold, his trea,son making 
Iiini dead in law. "The manuscript was in existence in 
1835, thoiig:h in a rather <lilai)i(hitetl state." It was last 
noted by Mr. Jnstin Winsor as owned by I\Ir. S. L. M. 
Barlow, of New York. A copy made of it when owned by 
Judge Edwards is in the "Sparks IManiiscripts " (LII, 
Vol. II). Extracts were i)ul)lislied in the appendix to the 
life of Bnrr, by Samuel L. Knapp, 1835. Its first pages, 
heretofore missing, are found in Force's Archives, Vol. Ill, 
page 1058. They are written by " Eleazer Oswald, Secretary 
pro tem." 

Henry's Journal, entitled "An Accurate and Interest- 
ing Account of the Hardships and Sufferings of the Band 
of Heroes who Traversed the AVilderness in the Campaign 
Against Quebec in 1775. ' ' By John Joseph Henry, Esq., 
late President of the Second Judicial District of Pennsyl- 
vania. Lancaster: Printed by William Greer, 1812. 
Pp. 225. Small 12mo. 

TJie same. — Library edition. "Campaign Against Que- 
bec, being an Accurate and Interesting Account of the 
Hardships and Sufferings of that Band of Heroes who 
Traversed the Wilderness by the Route of the Kennebec 
and Chaudiere Rivers to Quebec, in the year 1775." By 
John Joseph Henry, Esq., late President of the Second 
Judicial District of Pennsylvania. Revised edition, with 
corrections and alterations. AVatertowTi, N. Y. : Printed 
and published by Knowlton & Rice, 18-44. Pp. 212. 16mo. 
(Sketch of the life of Arnold, copied mainly from Spark's 
Biography, at the end of the second edition in the place of 
notes in the first edition). 

The same.— Third edition. "Account of Arnold's Cam- 
paign against Quebec and of the Hardships and Sufferings of 
that Band of Heroes, who Traversed the Wilderness of ]\Iaine 



CONTEMPORARY JOURNALS 315 

from Cambridge to the St. Lawrence in the Autumn of 1775." 
By John Joseph Henry, one of the survivors. Albany. Joel 
Munsell, 1877. With a Memoir of Judge Henry by his 
grandson, Aubrey H. Smith, Letters from the Pennsylvania 
Journal and Weekly Advertiser, Jan. 3, 1776. Roll of Capt. 
Matthew Smith's Company. Henry's Journal has also been 
printed with portrait of the author in Vol. XV of the Penn- 
sylvania Archives. 

McCoy's Journal. Henry's Journal states that Ser- 
geant William McCoy, of Captain Hendricks's company, 
while in confinement in Quebec, gave to Major Munay, of the 
British garrison, a correct copy of a journal kept by him- 
self through the wilderness. Whether it was carried to Eng- 
land is not known. It was probably never published. 

Haskell's Journal, May 5, 1775, to May 30, 1776, It 
includes the early part of the siege of Boston, and notes the 
hardships and privation endured by the troops in this expe- 
dition. It is a diary kept by Caleb Haskell, of Newburyport, 
Mass., a private in Captain Ward's company. Published in 
pamphlet form by William H. Huse & Co., Newburyport, 
1881. Edited, with notes, by Lothrop Withington. Mr. 
Withington's notes give the names of some of the men who 
hailed from Newbury and Newburyport, who were soldiers of 
the Quebec detachment. The manuscript of this journal is 
believed to be in the possession of some of Haskell's descend- 
ants in Newburyport. The pamphlet edited by Mr. With- 
ington is already rare. The one which he so courteously 
presented to me, I shall in turn present to the Boston Public 
Library. 

Melvin 's Journal, This is entitled ' ' A Journal of the 
Expedition to Quebec, in the year 1775, under the Command 
of Colonel Benedict Arnold, ' ' By James Melvin, a private in 
Captain Dearborn's company. New York, 1857, With in- 
troductory remarks and notes by W. J, D. Large 8vo. 



316 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

Tinted paper. Pp. 30. 100 copies only printed. It com- 
nionces at Cambridjjre September 13, 1775, and terminates at 
Quebec, Aii<,nist 5, 1776. It was edited by William J. Davis, 
Esq., late private secretary of Hon. George Bancroft. Of 
the author nothing is known beyond the statement made in 
the title page. 

Meigs's Journal. This is entitled "Journal of the Ex- 
pedition Against Quebec, under Comnuind of Colonel 
Benedict Arnold, in the year 1775," by ]\Iajor Return J. 
J\[eigs, with introduction and notes by Charles J. Bushnell. 
New York. Privately printed, 1864. 8vo. Fine tinted 
paper, Avith portrait of Colonel Christopher Greene. Pp. 57. 
It begins September 9, at Roxbury, and closes at Quebec, 
January 1, 1776. The journal was printed in the i\Iassa- 
chusetts Historical Collections, Second Series, Vol. II, 1814. 

AVare's Journal. This is entitled, "A Journal of a 
March from Cambridge on an Expedition Against Quebec," in 
Colonel Benedict Arnold's Detachment, September 13, 1775, 
Kept by Joseph Ware, of Needham, Mass. Published in the 
New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Vol. VI, 
1S52, with notes by Justin Winsor, of Boston. The author 
was a private in Captain Samuel Ward's company. 

Squier's Journal, entitled "The Diary of Ephraim 
Squier, " September 7 to November 25, 1775, is preserved in 
the Pension Office, Washington, and is printed in the ' ' Maga- 
zine of American History" (Vol. II, p. 685). This is the 
only account that has come to my notice of the adventures of 
Colonel Enos's men on their retreat. 

Thayer's Journal. "Invasion of Canada in 1775," 
including the journal of Captain Simeon Thayer, describing 
the perils and sufferings of the army under Colonel Benedict 
Arnold, with notes and appendix by E. M. Stone. Provi- 
dence, 1867, being Vol. VI of the Rhode Island Historical 
Society Collections. 



CONTEMPORAEY JOURNALS 317 

Topham's Journal. This journal has never been 
printed. The manuscript is now in the possession of the 
author's grandson, James G, Topham, Esq., of Newport, 
through whose courtesy I was permitted to make a copy. I 
shall present that copy to the Boston Public Library. 

Heth 's Journal. A ' ' Journal of Lieutenant Wm. Heth, ' ' 
of Morgan 's riflemen, is referred to in Marshall 's ' ' M^ashing- 
ton," pp. 53-57, and also in Graham's "Life of Daniel Mor- 
gan," where Morgan in his account of the assault on Quebec, 
mentions its existence. Wm. Heth's grandson is Richard 
H. M. Harrison of Richmond, Virginia. He is said to have 
a crayon portrait of Lieutenant Heth and possibly the manu- 
script of the journal. 

Wilde's Journal. This has been edited by Justin 
Winsor. It is the diary of Ebenezar Wilde. The manu- 
script was given to Harvard College Library in 1850 by 
W. S. Stoddard. 

Porterfield's Journal. Charles Porterfield, ensign of 
Morgan's company, wrote a journal, an extract from which, 
relating to the attack on Quebec, was printed by the ' ' Maga- 
zine of American History ' ' in April, 1889. George A. 
Porterfield, of Charlestown, West Virginia, writes me that 
he and Richard P. Bell, Esq., of Staunton, Virginia, great- 
great-grand-nephew of Charles Porterfield, have made a 
thorough but unsuccessful search for this manuscript. 

Pierce's Journal. This is noted by Mr. Stone as the 
journal of John Pierce, one of Church's scouts or surveyors, 
and in the possession of Charles Congdon, Esq., a member 
of the Bradford Club of New York. I find that Mr. Cong- 
don's library, after his decease, was sold and a portion of it 
purchased by Mr. Jos. P. Sabin. Neither Mr. Sabin nor 
Mr. Henry M. Congdon, son of Mr. Congdon, have any 
knowledge of the whereabouts of the journal. The Brad- 
ford Club long ago ceased to exist. 



318 ARNOLD'.^ KX1>KI)TTI0N TO QUEBEC 

Dr. Isaac Senter's Journal. Tliis is entitled, "The 
Journal of Isaac Senter, Physician and Sur<;eon to the 
troops detached from the American army encamped at Cam- 
bridge, Mass., on a Secret Expedition against (Quebec, under 
the command of Colonel Benedict Arnold, in September, 
1775." Philadelphia: Published by the Historical Society 
of Pennsylvania, 1846. To this edition is prefixed a brief 
notice of the manuscript of the journal and a bioirraphical 
preface. A few notes of reference are added. " This journal 
Avas carried to Philadelphia, where it was lost sight of for 
many years, and finally came into the hands of Dr. Lewis 
Roper, of that city, whose perception of its importance in- 
duced him to communicate it to the Pennsylvania Historical 
Society. It commences at Cambridge September 13, 1775, 
and closes at Quebec, January 6, 1776." Mr. C. A. Munn, 
of New York, now has the manuscript. 

Hendricks's Journal. This is entitled "Journal of the 
March of a Party of Provincials from Carlyle to Boston," 
and from thence to Quebec, begun July 13 and ended 
December 31, 1775; to which is added an "Account of 
the Attack and Engagement of Quebec, the 31st of 
December, 1775." Glasgow^, 1775, pp. 36. It is the 
journal of a company of riflemen, under Captain "Wil- 
liam Hendricks and John Chambers, and was sent from 
Quebec to Glasgow^ by a gentleman who appended the 
account. This journal has been printed in Vol. XV of the 
Pennsylvania Archives. The name of the author of ' ' The 
Account" is not given. 

Stocking's Journal. "An Interesting Journal of Abner 
Stocking of Chatham, Connecticut." Published by his rel- 
atives after his decease. Catskill Eagle Office, 1810. A 
copy of this journal may be found in the Prince Collection 
of the Boston Public Library. Stocking was a private in 
Handchett's company. 



CONTEMPORARY JOURNALS 319 

Morison's Journal.— a very rare copy of this journal 
is in the library of the Pennsylvania Historical Society. 
It was written by George Morison, a volunteer in Hendricks 's 
company, and printed at Hagerstown, Maryland, in 1803, 
An account of the assault on Quebec, taken from this jour- 
nal, is printed in the ' ' Pennsylvania Magazine, ' ' Vol. XIV, 
1890, with a brief sketch of Morison 's career. This society 
has kindly permitted me to have a copy made of the journal. 
This I shall present to the library of Harvard College. 

Francis Nicholas' Papers.— These papers have recently 
come into possession of the Pennsylvania Historical Society. 
Portions have been printed in their Historical Magazine. 

Charles Dennis Ruscoe D'Eres Memoirs.— Published 
at Exeter, 1800 ; begins with the fall of Montgomery. A 
copy in Harvard College Library. This is a small book 
of little value. 

The Journal of Colonel Rudolphus Ritzema, of the 
1st New York regiment, from August 8, 1775, to March 
30, 1776, now in the New York Historical Society, and 
printed in Magazine of American History, February, 1877. 
This journal becomes of value in this connection only after 
January 1, 1776. 

ENGLISH, FRENCH AND CANADIAN JOURNALS 

Letter op Colonel (generally known as Major) Henry 
Caldwell, written on board the Hunter, British armed ves- 
sel. Relates particularly to the attack on Quebec. 

Journal of the Most Remarkable Occurrences in 
Quebec from the 14th op November, 1775, to the 7th of 
May, 1776. By an officer of the garrison. Printed in the col- 
lections of the New York Historical Society for the year 1880. 
This journal, or one very similar to it in language and con- 
tents, appears in "William Smith's History of Canada, 1815." 



320 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

Journal of tiik Siege and Blockade of Quebec by 
THE American Kebels, in autumn of 1775 and winter of 
1776. ]\Ianusci'ipt last noted as in possession of lion. J. M. 
Fraser, Esq., who allowed a copy of it to be made for the 
use of the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec. 
Printed by that society in 1875. 

Ainslie's Journal. This is a journal by one Thomas 
Ainslie of the most remarkable occurrences in the Province 
of Quebec, from the appearance of the rebels in Septem- 
ber, 1775, until their retreat the 6th of May. "Sit mihi 
fas audita loquir' Virpfil. 177G. The manuscript is in the 
Harvard University library. I think it has never been 
printed. See there, Vol. I. Sparks Manuscripts. It is 
probably the best British journal extant. 

Unknown Author's Journal, I think probably Cap- 
tain Owen's. The author was evidently an artillery officer, 
stationed most of the time on the ramparts. Manuscript 
also in Sparks IManuscripts. 

Journal of the Siege of Quebec, 1775. From the 
manuscripts of George Chalmers. Bouj,dit in London 1843. 
Journal of the Siege from December 1, 1775. Earliest entry 
is December 5; the last May 9, 1776. 

Journal of the Siege of Quebec in 1775-76. Edited 
by W. T. P. Short, London, 1824. ]\Ientioned in AYiusor's 
" Critical History of America." 

A Narrative. Written by James Thompson, who was 
during the siege acting engineer. Is quoted at length by 
J. M. Lemoine in his ' ' Quebec, Past and Present. ' ' Mr. 
Thompson's papers are now in the possession of the Literary 
and Historical Society of Quebec. 

French Journals. John G. Shea, Esq., of New York, 
brought from Canada two journals in manuscript, written 
respectively by French notaries; one at Quebec and the 



CONTEMPORARY JOURNALS 321 

other at Three Rivers, ' ' about the Invasions of the Bos- 
tonnais. ' ' 

Le Memoire de Badeaux, ou Journal commence aux Trois- 
Rivieres le 18 May, 1775. In 1873 the manuscript of this 
journal was in the possession of M. Amable Berthelot, of 
Quebec. 

Le Memoire de Sanguinet, Ou Le Temoin Oculaire. 

Des Extracts du Memoire de M. Berthelot. It is not 
knoA^Ti whether the manuscript exists. 

Le Memoire de M. Lorimer, intitide: Mes Services. 

These four journals preceding have been copied and 
printed in M. L'Abbe Verreau's Invasion du Canada, Mon- 
treal, 1873. 

Le Memoire de B. D'Artigny. Abstracts are quoted in 
Faucher de St. Maurice's Sketch of Montgomery. 



21 



APPENDIX B 

SUBSEQUENT CAREERS OF MEMBERS OF THE 
EXPEDITION 

Perhaps the reader would be interested to hear 
wliat fate befell those heroes who thus passed alive 
through famine, pestilence and battle to secure to their 
posterity our iVmerican institutions and the countless 
blessings which have fallen to our country since the 
war of the E evolution. The good steel of which they 
were made had been well tempered by their sufferings, 
and a remarkable number became very prominent in 
the history of the Kepublic, Almost all the officers, 
as soon as exchanged, reenlisted. 

Morgan fought in almost every battle of the war, was 
the hero of Cowpens, and turned the tide for the Americans 
with his celebrated rifle corps on many a hard-fought field. 
He rose to be a major-general, and was elected a member of 
Congress. He died at Winchester, Virginia, after a long 
and painful illness, in 1799. 

Captain Llatthew Smith was promoted to a majority. 
In 1778-9 he served as a member of the Supreme Executive 
Council of Pennsylvania, and was at one time acting vice- 
president of that state. He died at IMilton, Pennsylvania, 
July 21, 1794. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Greene distinguished himself by his 
heroic defense of Red Bank in 1777. and continued in the 

(322) 



SUBSEQUENT CAREERS 323 

service till 1781, when he was attacked in his quarters, near 
Croton River, N. Y., by a party of refugees, overpowered and 
barbarously murdered, his corpse mutilated and flung into 
the woods. 

Of the captains of Greene's division, Thayer distin- 
guished himself as a commander of the gallant little garri- 
son of Fort Mifflin, lost an eye at Monmouth and retired 
in 1781, with the rank of major. He was for several years 
brigadier-general of the militia of Providence county, Rhode 
Island. He was killed by a fall from his horse in 1800, 
in the sixty-third year of his age. 

Topham left the army a colonel. He was for many years 
a deputy to the General Assembly from Newport. He died 
a natural death in 1793, aged fifty-five years. He had eleven 
sons and twin daughters. Ten of the sons went to sea; none 
of these ever returned or were heard of afterwards. 

Major Bigelow, at the head of the 15th Massachusetts, 
was at Saratoga, Valley Forge and West Point. He died in 
1790, aged fifty years. 

Major Meigs was in 1777 made a colonel, and for a bril- 
liant expedition to Long Island that year received the thanks 
of Congress and a sword. He commanded a regiment under 
Wayne at the capture of Stony Point. In 1816 he was agent 
for Indian affairs, and later was the first provisional gover- 
nor of Ohio. He died January 28, 1823, at the Cherokee 
Agency, aged eighty-three years. 

Lieutenant Christian Febiger, afterwards colonel of the 
2d Virginia, with the 11th Virginia, led one of the assaulting 
columns at Stony Point. He came to be well known in the 
army as ' ' Old Denmark, ' ' and left the service a brigadier- 
general by brevet. He served with distinction from Bunker 
Hill to Yorktown. In 1791 he held the office of treasurer of the 
state of Pennsylvania. He died in that office in 1796, at fifty. 
He was captain of the First City Troop of Philadelphia. 



324 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

Captain Dearboi-n, ai'terwai-ds of ]\Iajor Scammel's ro<^i- 
ment, fought at Ticonderoga, MoniiHuilh and Saratoga. On 
Scammcrs death he commanded the regiment. The war 
over, he settled in Gardiner, Maine, and under President 
Washington was United States marshal for the district of 
Maine. He was twice elected to Congress, and was for 
eight years secretary of war under Jefl'erson. During 
Madison's administration he was collector of the port of 
Boston. In 1812 he was commissioned major-general in the 
United States Army, and under President IMonroe was its 
commander-in-chief. In 1822 he was appointed minister to 
Portugal. He died in Roxbury in 1829, aged seventy-eight 
years. 

Ward was commissioned a major in Colonel Christopher 
Greene's regiment, fought at Red Bank, participated in the 
retreat from Long Island, and shared the privations of Val- 
ley Forge. Later he was commissioned lieutenant-colonel, 
and later still was given a regiment. After the war he 
became a merchant at Warwick, Rhode Island, subsequently 
at New York, under the firm name of Samuel Ward and 
Brother. He died in New York in 1832, in the seventy-sixth 
year of his age, surviving, I think, all his fellow otiicers. 
He had been a member of the Annapolis convention, and of 
the Hartford convention, where he exerted his influence in 
behalf of the government. He was also president of the 
New York Marine Insurance Company, 

Lieutenant-Colonel Enos, after his court martial, with- 
drew from the army, but afterward accepted a commission, 
and was at one time, with the rank of brigadier-general, 
commander of all the troops of liis native state, Vermont. 
But I have not been able to discover that he ever again saw 
service in the field. He served nearly ten years in the State 
Legislature, was a conmiissioner to New Hampshire during 
the Vermont controversy, and was prominent in the annals 



SUBSEQUENT CAREERS 325 

of the state after the war. He died in Colchester, Vermont, 
in 1808, at the ripe age of seventy-two years. 

Captain McCobb, on his return from the expedition, 
raised a regiment in Lincoln county, was commissioned its 
colonel, joined Washington's army at Cambridge, and took 
part in the Rhode Island campaign. In command of another 
regiment he took part in the unfortunate expedition against 
Castine. In the subsequent official investigation into the 
causes of this failure, it is recorded that McCobb 's command 
acquitted itself with honor, and after losing some men and 
officers, he brought away the remainder of his command in- 
tact, assisting others of the forces also in retreat. After the 
wax he represented his townsmen as a representative to the 
general court; and at his death in 1791, at forty-seven years 
of age, was commander of the military division of Maine, 
with rank of brigadier-general. 

Dr. Senter built up an extensive practice, but died at 
forty-six years of age, in 1799, at the height of his reputa- 
tion and usefulness. 

The Rev. Dr. Spring died in 1819, at seventy-three years 
of age. On his return from Quebec he left the army, and 
was a minister of Newburyport for many years. He was 
one of the founders of the Massachusetts Missionary Society, 
of the Andover Theological Seminary and the American 
Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. 

Ensign Charles Porterfield rose to be lieutenant-colonel, 
and died soon after the battle of Camden from wounds re- 
ceived in the early part of that action. 

Dr. Thomas Gibson died at Valley Forge. 

Captain Eleazar Oswald retired from the army in 1778, a 
lieutenant-colonel. He participated in the affair at Compo, 
and did gallant service at Monmouth. Soon after leaving 
the army he was appointed public printer at Philadelphia. 
In command of a regiment of artillery in the French Army of 



32G ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

Liberty, he served witli credit uiidcr Duniourifr in the battle 
of Jemappe. He died in the United States of smallpox in 
1795. 

Lieutenant Shaw, promoted to a captaincy, was killed at 
Red Bank. Lieutenant Stevens and William Humphrey be- 
came captains in line regiments. 

lioyd was captured, and hideously tortured to death by 
the Indians in 1779. 

John Joseph Henry became a judge and president of the 
Second Judicial District of Pennsylvania, but a broken consti- 
tution carried him to an early grave. On account of inju- 
ries received and disease contracted during the campaign, he 
was unable to accept promotion tendered him when ex- 
changed, and never took the field again. 

Lieutenant Michael Simpson fought at Trenton, Prince- 
ton, Brandywine and White Plains, and after the war was 
commissioned a brigadier-general in the Pennsylvania ^li- 
litia. 

Lieutenant Archibald Steele lived to be ninety-one years 
of age, and died in Philadelphia October 19, 1832. He 
was at one time appointed deputy quartermaster-general 
with rank of colonel in the Continental line, and held for 
some time the position of military store-keeper in Phila- 
delphia. 

James Crouch of Smith's company rose from the ranks 
to a colonelcy. Private David Harris, also of Smith's, be- 
came a captain in the Pennsylvania line. 

Sabattis w^as killed in a fight on the Kennebec with a 
settler named Ephraim Brown. Natanis fought again on 
the side of the Americans at Saratoga ; what end he met 
history has not yet revealed. 

Of Captain Handchett's life, after being exchanged, we 
have no particulars. He died in 1816, aged seventy-five, 
at the West Parish in Suffield. 



SUBSEQUENT CAREERS 327 

Of Captain Goodrich I have no account. 

Of the subsequent career of Captains Scott and Wil- 
liams of Enos's division I have as yet found no trace. It 
would be interesting to learn whether they removed by 
later acts the impression which their defection created. 

Of Mrs. Jemima Warner or Mrs. Grier I can only find 
this clue— an entry in Haskell's Journal, under date of 
April 18, 1776 : "A woman of the Pennsylvania troops 
was killed to-day by accident— a soldier carelessly snapping 
his musket, which proved to be loaded. ' ' 

Colonel James Livingston was at the battle of Stillwater, 
and in command of Verplanck's Point at the time of Arnold's 
treason. 

Major John Brown was killed in 1780, in an ambuscade 
on the Mohawk. 

Captain John Lamb lived to be severely wounded by an- 
other grapeshot at Compo Hill, Conn., in 1777. He fought 
at Yorktown. After the war he was a member of the New 
York General Assembly, and was raised to the rank of 
brigadier-general. He was also collector of the customs at 
the port of New York. He died in 1800, aged sixty-five 
years. 

Edward Antill became a lieutenant-colonel in the Conti- 
nental army. 

Of Colonel Donald Campbell I have no account. Henry 
states that he was court-martialed for his conduct at Pres 
de Ville and acquitted. 

As for the King's officers who so gallantly and steadfastly 
defended the fortress. Governor Guy Carleton succeeded Sir 
Henry Clinton in 1781 as commander-in-chief of the British 
forces in America, and so continued until after the treaty of 
peace. In 1786 he was again appointed governor of Quebec, 
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and was raised to the 
peerage as a reward for his distinguished services, under the 



328 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

title of Lord Dorchester. He died in 1808, at the age of 
eighty-five. 

MacLean in 1779 defended successfully the fort in Penob- 
scot, Maine, against Lovell and Saltonstall. He was pro- 
moted to be a colonel in 1780. 

Caldwell lived to a green old age and died in Quebec in 
1810. 



APPENDIX C 

EELICS OF THE EXPEDITION 

Many interesting relics of Arnold's Expedition to 
Quebec have been found from time to time, along the 
route of its march. There follows a brief description 
of some of those which were actually seen by the au- 
thor, or the existence of which was positively certified 
to him. 

Philip Clare, a workman for Augustus J. P. Dudley, 
working on a dam at Ledge Falls, near Eustis, in 1895, un- 
earthed in a heap of muck from the bottom of the river an 
old bayonet; undoubtedly this was one of Arnold's. 

I was shown by Charles Spirins, who has opened a farm 
at the first of the second chain of ponds, an ax -head and 
table knife ; the handles were gone and the blade of the knife 
almost destroyed by rust. The ax -head was such as has 
now long passed out of use, and resembled an iron toma- 
hawk. Mr. Spirins plowed them up in the field which was 
Arnold's camp-ground at that place. 

Mr, Parsons, the proprietor of Parsons' hotel, near Bog 
Brook, told me that one of his men had ploughed up from 
under an old stump the barrel of a queen's arm with a bayo- 
net. This was only a few years ago. I afterwards learned 
that the workman's name was Will Bemis, and that the relic 
is now in the possession of Edgar Jones, of Stratton, Maine. 

Mr. Kushner, whom I met, was one of the oldest settlers 
of the Dead River valley, and nearly ninety years of age. 

(329) 



330 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

He tx^ld me that he had found under an elm stump on his 
farm, opposite Flagstaff and not far from Kushner brook, 
still another bayonet. It was buried under two feet of soil. 
This is now in the State House at Au<2:usta, Maine. 

A good many years ago some boys in swimming at Ledge 
or Arnold's Falls, I think the former, found one or two 
quarts of bullets. They were very much worn by the action 
of the water and so coated that until they were weighed in 
the hand one would have taken them for unusually round 
pebbles. One of these was given me at Eustis. 

As I was passing with my guide over the rocks at Ledge 
Falls, to get a good point of view for iny camera, I saw him 
stoop and pick up something which resembled a bit of an 
old glass bottle. It proved to be the flint of a flintlock gun. 
It was in a path across a ledge, which was almost bare of 
earth, though patched here and there with moss. A path 
had been worn across the ledge by log drivers, and the flint 
bore marks upon it as if it had been turned up by some 
driver's cogs. Of course it is presumptuous to claim that 
this was a relic of Arnold's Expedition; still flint is an 
enduring substance, and this piece may have lain on the 
ledge undisturbed for one hundred and twenty years, or 
have been washed up by the water more recently during 
some unusual flood. It was customary to carry large pack- 
ages of these flints among the army supplies. It is to be 
borne in mind, too, that at Ledge Falls the army met with 
its greatest loss of provisions and ammunition. 

With regard to the bateaux, I heard as I passed up the 
Dead River that several men of that region and of the 
present generation claim that certain of these bateaux are 
still to be seen on the bottom of the lakes, or at the bottom 
of the Arnold River. I was on the lookout, therefore, to 
trace this story. On Lake ]\Iegantic I met a young fellow 
named Fred Braddock, who, without any leading questions 



RELICS OF THE EXPEDITION 331 

from me, told me the following story. He said that his 
father, Charles E. Braddock, who used often to follow the 
old whisky trail over Louise Mountain to Hathan bog, had 
often told him that he had found a boat there, which he 
believed was one of Arnold's bateaux; that he had de- 
scribed the boat as not very large and too old to be of any 
service, and stated that it was bound with brass nails and 
staples of a design and character which made him certain 
that it must be very old. He told me that William Latty, a 
guide at Three Rivers, could tell me more about it, for he 
himself had seen the boat. I was unable to find Latty in 
the short time I had at Three Rivers. The tradition had 
grown somewhat in definiteness at Three Rivers, and peo- 
ple said that two or three of these bateaux had recently 
been seen in the Arnold River. If they were under water 
the wood would of course withstand decay much longer. 

From a letter reprinted in the edition of Henry's Jour- 
nal published by Munsell, we learn that during the survey 
of the boundary between Maine and Canada in 1844, one 
of the engineers, while crossing the swampy highlands, ob- 
served at one point a hollow sound where he struck his 
Jacob's staff into the soil. On scraping away the moss he 
discovered an entire bateau, built of sawed wood, such as 
was not indigenous to that locality. It is- more than prob- 
able that this was one of the bateaux abandoned by Arnold's 
men on the trail across the divide. 

In the fall of 1858 a young man passing up the Dead 
River valley and across the chain of ponds (the head of 
the river), landing at the Arnold trails, found beside the 
trail between the Dead River waters and the Chaudiere, the 
remains of an old musket, apparently having been left 
standing beside a tree, where it had rotted down. The 
stock was entirely gone and the barrel and mountings had 
fallen down together at the foot of the tree. It is conjee- 



332 ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC 

lured lliat tlic iiniskct liad Ix'en left lliere by one of Arnold's 
soldiers, and the ])arrel is now in possession of ]\Ir. Colum- 
bus Steward, of North Anson, ]\Iaine. The following ap- 
peared in the "Maine Farmer" in 1877: ''A Ccnlennial 
liclic. — Mr. Sheppard Harville, of Lincolnville, has in his 
possession a French rifle gun-barrel, that he found over 
thirty years ago on the Dead River at the foot of Arnold's 
Falls, so called from the fact of its being on the route that 
Arnold marched with his army through the wilderness to 
Point Levi, Quebec. Mr. Harville, then of Solon, Charles 
Folsom and others of Skowhegan, Hartley (jlreen and Asa 
Green were the boatmen on the drive near where this gun- 
barrel was found by Mr. Harville. AVhen discovered by 
him on the trail near the falls it was resting against a 
rock. The stock had entirely rotted off, and it is supposed 
to have been left there by one of Arnold's men one hun- 
dred years ago last September." 

The "Maine Standard," a paper formerly published at 
Augusta, Llaine, contained in its issue of June 28, 1867, the 
account of a curious discovery made by the workmen in the 
machine shop of the Edwards cottonmill in that city. In 
sawing lengthwise a piece of thick lumber, taken from the 
body of a large rock-maple tree, the saw encountered, near 
the middle of the log, a pine spile, wiiich it cut off in its 
progress, and on opening the parts thus sundered, the spile 
was withdrawn, and the hole found to contain a small bit of 
paper, carefully folded and plugged up. On opening the 
paper the following words were recorded : 

1775 

J. B. Dunkirk 

With Arnold 

"J. B. Dunkirk" was doubtless one of Arnold's soldiers 
or officei's, who had the curiosity to bore a hole into a 



RELICS OF THE EXPEDITION 333 

rock-maple tree, deposit his name therein, and confine it 
there on the doubtful chance of its being brought to light 
again by some future generation. The tree had grown 
over the spile eight inches in thickness, and was perfectly 
sound and solid that distance to the bark. The number 
of rings in the wood, answering each to a year's growth, 
as counted by one of the workmen, was about ninety. The 
paper is coarse and white— old-fashioned hand-paper— and 
the words upon it appear to have been written, not in ink, 
but with a lead pencil. This, perhaps, will account for 
their preservation. 

The lumber from the tree in which the paper was in- 
serted was purchased of Mr. Columbus Howard of Sidney. 
Probably the tree grew in that town, which is next above 
Augusta, on the west side of the river. The interesting 
relic was deposited among the cabinet of curiosities and 
antiquities at the State Capitol in Augusta. 



INDEX 



Abenaki Indians, 122. 

Adams, Samuel, 8. 

Ainslie, Lieutenant Thomas, 304, 320. 

Allen, Colonel Ethan, 10, 17-20. 

Allen, Captain, 128. 

Amnesty Proclamation, 305. 

Anderson, Captain, 234. 

Antill, Edward, 198, 231, 255, 327. 

Arnold, Governor, 13. 

Arnold, Captain, 13. 

Arnold, Benedict, 1, 4, 5 ; chosen to 
command expedition and voted 
Colonel's commission by Congress, 
12 ; early life and character, 
13-17 ; marches to Cambridge, 17 ; 
Colonel's commission from Massa- 
chusetts, 17 ; his part in capture 
of Ticonderoga, 18, 19 ; resigns 
from Massachusetts service, 19, 20 ; 
forwards Canadian information to 
Congress, 20 ; three routes open 
to his expedition, 21 ; plan of 
campaign, 22-27 ; preparations for 
departure, 28, 29 ; personnel of ex- 
pedition, 29-34 ; departure from 
Cambridge, 34; embarks at New- 
buryport, 38 ; journey to Fort West- 
em, 38-41 ; Berry and Getchell re- 
port, 43 ; finds bateaux defective, 
49-51 ; reaches Twelve Mile carry 
after great difiiculties, 55 ; camps 
on Dead River, 61 ; letters to Wash- 
ington, Schuyler and Quebec cor- 
respondents, 62, 63 ; letters to Enos, 
64, 83; suffers by flood, 71-73; 
council of war, 76 ; his absence 

(335 



from Ledge Falls council, 83 ; let- 
ter to Greene, 84 ; letters to officers 
from Chaudiere River, 92, 102 ; his 
descent of the Chaudiere, 108-111 ; 
his speech to the Abenaki, 122 ; 
letters from Montgomery, 126, and 
reply, 127 ; reaches Point Levi, 131 ; 
review of causes for his failure 
to reach Quebec earlier, 138-142 ; 
crosses the St. Lawrence, 143 ; letters 
to Montgomery, 147, 173, 176, 177; 
undelivered summons to Cramahe, 
151 ; grievance of riflemen against 
him, 162 ; withdraws to Pointe aux 
Trembles, 168; characterization by an 
officer, 174; Montgomery joins him, 
180 ; dissension among officers, 200 ; 
plan of assault, 216 ; wounded, 223 ; 
defeat of his troops, 242, 243 ; their 
losses, 250 ; in hospital, 254 ; gives 
command to Campbell, 255, but 
troops refuse to permit his resigna- 
tion, 256 ; institutes blockade, 257 ; 
reinforcements arrive, 258 ; orders 
from Washington, 259 ; commis- 
sioned Brigadier-General, 280 ; letter 
to Hancock, 281 ; hopeful letter to 
Washington, 285 ; Wooster takes 
command of his troops, 291 ; retires 
to Montreal, 292 ; abandons Mon- 
treal, 304 ; his journal, 313. 

Arnold, Hannah, 16. 

"Arnold's Cove," 57. 

"Arnold's Hospital," 59. 

Arnold's River, 78, 98. 

Aston, Sergeant, 270. 

) 



336 



INDEX 



lliiilly, Mr., 290. 

Bancroft, GeorKP, 316. 

Barlow, S. L. M., 314. 

Barnsfare, Captain, 230, 231, 233, 

Beaujeu, Captain, 290. 

Bedell, Colonel, 128, 261. 

Berian, Jlichael, 185. 

Berry, the scout, 43, 60. 

Berthelot, Amable, 321. 

Bigelow, Major Timothy, 31, 45, 68, 70, 

75, 167, 220, 224, 227, 238, 323. 
Bishop, Reuben, 43, 55. 
Blair, .Tohn, 308. 
Bond, Colonel, 295. 
Bouchctte, 169. 
Bowman, Judge, 42. 
Boyd, Sergeant, 60, 270, 326. 
Bridge, Squire, 42. 
Brown, Captain Jacob, 215, 218, 219, 

228, 248. 
Brown, Major John, 129, 137, 215, 281, 

282, 327. 
Bruen, Lieutenant, 227, 308. 
Buckmaster, Lieutenant, 84. 
Burdeen, Private, 120. 
Burgoyne, General, 301, 304. 
Burr, Aaron, 33, 73, 107, 176, 178, 193, 

198, 231, 232, 284. 
Bushnell, C. J., 316. 

Cairns, Ensign, 237. 

Caldwell, Major Henry, 134, 146, 160, 

237, 265, 278, 319, 328. 
Campbell, Lieutenant-Colonel Donald, 

232, 255, 327. 
Campbell, Captain, 237. 
Cambridge, 3, 17, 29, 86, 261. 
Canada, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 18, 21, 22, 35, 304. 
Canadian Archives, 4, 250. 
Carleton, Sir Guy, 10, 11, 22, 27, 44, 

63, 130, 152, 159, 169, 170, 187, 189, 

208. 217, 221, 240, 244, 251, 252, 254, 

263, 267, 291, 302, 308, 327. 
Carrington, General, 246. 
Carroll, Charles, of Carrollton, 292. 



Carroll, Bisliop John, 292. 

Cavanaugh, Private, 264. 

Chabotte, Captain, 230. 

Chalmers, George, 320. 

Chambly, 11, 126, 129, 185. 

Chaudiere lliver, 2, 24, 44, 108-111, 

12G. 
Chase, Samuel, 292. 
Chatham, Lord, son of, 37, 138. 
Cheeseman, Captain Jacob, 231, 232, 

244, 253. 
Church, Lieutenant, 44, 55, 61, 74, 92, 

266. 
Clarkson, Captain James, 38. 
Cleek, Lieutenant, 227. 
Clinton, Sir Henry, 327. 
Coffin, John, 233. 
C'olburn, Major, 42. 
Colburn, Captain Oliver, 31, 45. 
Col burn, Reuben, 26. 
Congdon, Charles, 317. 
Congdon, H. M., 317. 
Congress, Continental, 8, 9, 10, 12, 18, 

253, 280, 284. 
Congress, Provincial, 7. 
Conners, Private, 264. 
Cooper, Lieutenant, 235. 
Cramahe, Lieutenant - Governor, 63, 

130, 150, 152. 
Crouch, James, 326. 
Cullom, General, 246. 
Gushing, Colonel, 42. 
Coullard, Sieur, 290. 

Dalton, Tristram, 34. 

Dambourges, Ensign, 237. 

Davis, "\V. J., 316. 

Dearborn, Captain Henry, 31, 42, 45, 

68, 85, 96, 97, 99, 120, 186, 200, 220, 

238, 242, 306, 324. 
D'Eres, C. D. R., 319. 
De Montniollin, Rev. Mr., 252. 
Desmarais, the guide, 231, 232. 
Devine, Mr., 206. 
Dixon, Sergeant, 165, 166. 



INDEX 



337 



Douglas, Captain Charles, 300. 

Dubois, Major, 290. 

Duggan, Captain Jeremiah, 176, 185, 

186. 
Dumas, Captain Alexandre, 234. 
Dupre, Colonel LeComte, 160, 208. 

Easton, Colonel James, 19, 129, 137, 170, 

215, 281. 
Edwards, Judge Pierpont, 313. 
Emerson, Rev. Ezekiel, 39. 
Eneas, Indian messenger, 62-64, 122. 
Enos, Colonel Roger, 31, 45, 55, 64, 69, 

75, 76, 79, 80, 84, 86, 88-91, 324. 
Escape, attempts of Americans to, 269- 

275, 277-279. 

Farnsworth, Captain, 34, 139. 

Febiger, C. C, 4. 

Febiger, Christian, 33, 149, 323. 

Fitch, Seabrid, 90. 

Force's Archives, 4. 

Franklin, Benjamin, 292, 293. 

Eraser, Alexander, 240. 

Eraser, J. M., 320. 

Eraser, Captain Malcolm, 221. 

Eraser, Simon, 299. 

Gardiner, William, 42. 

Garver, Thomas, 308. 

Gaspe, M. de, 253. 

Gaubert, Fran5ois, 252. 

General Hospital, 163, 186, 192, 216, 

224, 254, 286. 
Getchell, the scout, 43, 60. 
Gibson, Thomas, 272, 308, 325. 
Goodrich, Captain William, 31, 45, 96, 

97, 99, 175, 200, 220. 
Goodwin, Captain, 42. 
Graham, Colonel, 295. 
Greene, Colonel Christopher, 31,45, 48, 

54, 67, 68, 70, 75, 79, 80, 84, 88, 94, 

101, 103, 104, 220, 223, 233, 301, 308, 

322, 
Greene, Edward A., 4. 
Gregory, William, 63, 112. 



Grier, Sergeant, 43. 
Grier, Mrs., 43, 327. 

Haldimand Papers, 4. 

Hall, John, 275, 291. 

Hamilton, Captain, 240. 

Hancock, John, 281. 

Handchett, Captain Oliver, 31, 45, 76, 

77, 88, 92, 135, 183, 191, 200, 220, 278, 
281, 326. 

Harris, David, 326 

Harrison, R. H. M., 317. 

Hart, Onley, 120, 134. 

Harvard University, 4, 320. 

Haskell, Caleb, 315. 

Hazen, Moses, 291. 

Hendricks, Captain William, 29, 45, 57, 

78, 93, 94, 112, 162, 220, 235, 237, 268,' 
318. 

Henry, J. J., 60, 94, 112, 118, 125, 165, 

250, 310, 314, 326. 
Henry, Patrick, 8. 
Heth, Lieutenant William, 225, 235, 

238, 308, 317. 
Higgins, Paul, 26. 
Hubbard, Captain Jonas, 31, 45, 191, 

200, 220, 236, 245, 264. 
Humphries, Lieutenant, 73, 235. 
Humphrey, William, 326. 
"Hunter," British Ship, 134, 137, 145, 

175, 299. 
Hutchins, Lieutenant, 120, 175, 240. 
Hyde, Adjutant, 87. 

Innis, George, 107, 133. 
Irvine, Colonel, 308. 

Jacataqua, 42, 43, 116, 178. 
Jackquith, 64, 102. 
Johnson, Colonel Guy, 138. 
Jones, Captain Jonathan, 287. 
Journals, 2, 3, 313-321. 

Kennebec River, 2 ; settlements on, 24, 
25. 



338 



INDEX 



King, Captain Alisaloin, 13. 
KiKipp, S. L., 314. 
Knowles, Ensign, 21S, 248. 

Liiforce, Captain, 278. 
Lafraniboise, M., 289. 
Lamb, Captain John, 128, 179, 191, 193, 

215, 220, 223, 235, 245, 308, 327. 
Laws, Captain, 240, 242, 248, 306. 
Layard, Lieutenant, 238. 
Ledge Falls, 74, 75, 79-83. 
Lee, General Charles, 296. 
Lenioine, J. M., 320. 
Lenaudiere, M., 169, 253. 
Lindsey, Captain, 300. 
Livingston, Colonel, 128. 
Livingston, James, 8, 129, 215, 218, 228, 

248, 256, 327. 
Livingston, Janet, 181, 254. 
Livingston, Robert R., 181, 195. 
"Lizard," English ship, 134,168,299. 
Loekwood, Captain, 277, 278. 
Lotbiniere, M., 297. 
Lothrop, Dr. Daniel, 15. 
Lothrop, Dr. Joshua, 15. 

Maine Historical Society, 4. 
Manifesto to people of Canada, 35, 125. 
Mansfield, ^largaret, 16. 
Mansfield, Samuel, 16. 
Manier, John, 63, 112. 
Martin, John, 271. 
Maroux, Captain, 234. 
Massachusetts Archives, 4 
Massachusetts Committee of Safety, 

17. 
Maxwell, Colonel, 302. 
Maynard, John, 63, 112. 
Maybind, Doctor, 276. 
McAlister, Mr., 308. 
McClean, Mr., 308. 
McClelland, Lieutenant, 112, 133. 
McCloud, Captain, 224, 2.35. 
McCobb, Captain Samuel, 31, 45, 55, 

80, 86, 325. 



McCormick, Blayer of Bishop, 43. 

McCoy, William, 315. 

McDougal, Captain, 240, 242. 

McGuire, Mr., 308. 

McKenzie, Captain, .307. 

McLean, Colonel Allen, 129, 130, 135, 
137, 152, IGO, 163, 250, 263, 278, 302, 
306, 328. 

McPherson, John, 231, 232. 244, 253. 

McQuarters, Hugh, 230. 

Melvin, James, 315. 

Merchant, George, 148, 149. 

Meigs, Major Return J., 31, 45, 48, 59, 
69, .76, 77, 79, 88, 94, 96, 131, 167, 
220, 224, 227, 233, 238, 248, 306, 316, 
323. 

Montgomery, General Ricliard, 2, 4, 6; 
succeeds Schuyler, 11; advance to 
Montreal, 128, 129; takes Montreal, 
169 ; joins Arnold, 180 ; account of 
early life, 180, 181 ; speech to sol- 
diers, 181 ; investment of Quebec, 185 ; 
proclamation, 189 ; narrowly escapes 
death, 191 ; letter to Livingston, 195 ; 
plan of assault, 197; causes of delay, 
199-201; letter to Schuyler, 204; 
Christmas Day speech, 206 ; his line 
of assault, 216 ; leads his men in per- 
son, 219 ; his death, 232 ; burial, 252 ; 
devotion of his dog, 253. 

Montgomery, Thomas, 180. 

Montreal, 2, 8, 11, 15, 17, 169, 291, 292. 

Moody, Mr., 308. 

Morgan, Captain Daniel, 29, 45, 51, 57, 
69, 75, 77, 88, 107, 136, 145, 162, 175, 
183, 206, 215, 220, 223-225, 233, 235, 
238, 242, 243, 248, 268, 308, 322. 

Morison, George, 78, 114, 133, 319. 

Munay, Major, 315. 

Nairn, Major, 237, 302. 

Natanis, or " Nattarius," 44, 60, 64, 67, 

74, 122, 124, 133, 326. 
Newburyport Monument, 311. 
New York Historical Society, 2. 



INDEX 



339 



Nichols, Lieutenant Francis, 236, 308, 
319. 

Niverville, Chevalier de, 169. 

Noble, Captain, 218. 

Norridgewock, last Kennebec settle- 
ment, 51, 53. 

Oakman, Squire, 42. 
Ogden, Mathias, 34, 177, 182, 236. 
Oswald, Eleazar, 34, 92, 218, 308, 325. 
Owen, Captain, 234, 320. 

Parker, John, 25. 

Parker, Jordan, 39. 

Parole of prisoners, 307. 

Parsons, Rev. Jonathan, 38. 

Patterson, Colonel, 295. 

Pennsylvania Archives, 4, 314, 318. 

Pierce, John, 317, 

Poor, Colonel, 295. 

Porter, Colonel Elisha, 261. 

Porterfield, G. A., 4, 317. 

Porterfield, Charles, 34, 225, 227, 235, 

308, 317, 325. 
Portneuf, M. de, 24. 
Prentice, Mrs., 251. 
Prentice, Major, 275, 306. 
Prescott, Colonel Richard, 170. 
Price, James, 8, 198. 

Quebec, 2, 3, 5, 11, 15, 27, 63, 152, 153- 
161, 166, 169, 185, 187, 188, 208, 209, 
251, 259, 266, 286, 300, 302. 

Quebec Act, 8. 

Rasle, Sebastian, 52. 

Reed, Parker M., 4. 

Reed, General, 4. 

Relics of Expedition, 329-333. 

Retreat of Americans from Quebec, 

301, 304. 
Rhode Island Historical Society, 2, 

316. 
Rigaudville, Abbe de, 163, 254. 
Ritzema, Colonel Rudolphus, 319. 



Robisho, Mr,, 124. 
Roper, Dr. Lewis, 318. 

Sabattis, 62, 64, 74, 122, 137, 236, 326. 
Savage, Lieutenant, 135. 
Scott, Captain, 31, 45, 80. 
Schuyler, General Philip, 4, 11, 35, 93, 

295. 
Scurvy appears in the prisons, 276. 
Senter, Dr. Isaac, 42, 81, 104, 106, 113, 

144, 166, 186, 193, 318, 325. 
Shaw, Lieutenant, 326. 
Shea, J. G., 320. 
Short, W. T. P., 320. 
Simpson, Lieutenant Michael, 112, 164, 

304, 326. 
Singleton deserts, 203. 
Skene, Philip, 19. 
Smith, Aubrey H., 315. 
Smith, Captain Matthew, 29, 45, 57, 93, 

94, 107, 120, 162, 186, 220, 268, 304, 322. 
Smythe, Major-General, 247. 
Sparks, Jared, 4, 14. 
Spring, Rev. Samuel, 34, 38, 224, 325. 
Squier, Ephraim, 316. 
St. Patrick's Day celebration, 289. 
Stamp Act, 8. 
Steele, Lieutenant Archibald, 44, 60, 61, 

74, 92, 120, 144, 220, 235, 308, 326. 
Stevens, Captain Ebenezer, 261. 
Stevens, Lieutenant, 326. 
Stocking, Sergeant Abner, 85, 100, 132, 

310, 318. 
Stoddard, W. S., 317. 
Stone, E. M., 2, 316. 
Sullivan, General John, 86, 304. 

Taschereau, Gabriel E., 126. 

Taylor, John M., 120, 236. 

Taylor, John, 133. 

Thayer, Captain Simeon, 31, 45, 68, 131, 

143, 167, 183, 184, 191, 220, 226, 235, 

277, 316, 323. 
Tisdale, Lieutenant, 236. 
Thomas, Ensign, 120, 235. 



3-40 



INDEX 



Thomas, General John, 29G, 298, 301, 

303. 
Thompson, James, 252, 254, 320. 
Topham, James G., 4, 317. 
Topham, John, 31, 45, 68, 141, 167, 183, 

191, 220, 235, 266, 317, 323. 
Tracy, Nathaniel, 34. 

Voyer, Colonel, 234. 

Walker, Thomas, 8, 293. 

Ward, Captain Samuel, 31, 45, 96, 200, 

220, 324. 
Ware, Joseph, 316. 
Warner, James, 134. 
Warner, Jemima, 43, 101, 327. 
Warner, Michael, 134. 
Warner, Colonel Seth, 128. 
Warren, Widow, 51. 



Washington, General George, 4, 11, 23, 

.35, 142, 257, 2.59, 261. 
Waterman, Hannah, 15. 
Whaples, 11. M., 4. 
■Wheelwright, Jeremiah, .34. 
Wihle, Ebenezer, 317. 
Williams, Mr., 152. 
Williams, Thomas, 31, 45, 55, 80. 
Winsor, Justin, 314, 316, 317. 
Wister, Mr., 308. 
Withington, Lothrop, 315. 
Wolfe, Joshua, 203. 
Wooster, General, 182, 254, 257, 291, 

294. 

Yale College, 15, 17. 
Zedwitz, Major, 179. 



IG 2i 1904 



